Lars Karlsson: CapacityNow

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There are now more than 16.000 people monthly that are interested in information about Customs, borders, trade, reform & modernization, capacity building, travel, music, sport and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

A new report from the European Research Group (ERG) a Tory Brexiteers group today published a report outlining a solution for the 310 mile border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit, including extra customs declarations and declarations of origin as well as sanitary, phytosanitary and product compliance procedures.

Among the proposals put forward in the document to deal with these are:

Extra customs declarations should be incorporated into existing online system of VAT returns

Simplified customs procedures for the majority of cross-border trade

Trusted trader-type schemes for large companies

Equivalence of UK and EU regulations for agricultural produce

Declaring the island of Ireland a Common Biosecurity Zone

This is a very similar model that I suggested as Customs technical border proposal in the SmartBorder 2.0 report. This is the report I wrote for the European Parliaments Constitutional Committee.

The model presented on the ERG report is in my opinion a conceptual model – moving formalities away from the border to before and after – that indeed is doable, possible and in line with international standards. From a strictly technical Customs perspective.

However there are no discussions about how to identify transports at the border when needed, naturally due to the very sensitive security situation based on history around the border. This is certainly somethong that should not be underestimated. I believe that the SmartBorder 2.0 solutions can provide an alternative where Trusted Traders and Trusted Commercial Travellers could be using existing infrastructure of the mobile GSM/GPS technolgy and systems for the identification and when needed surveillance.

I am as always, not commenting if this politically possible, right or wrong. That is for others to judge.

Then the ERG report also include e.g stating in the VAT cooperstion naturally has consequences that need decidion based on political will.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-45495960

Source: BBC

Most of Dutch companies dealing with the United Kingdom is still insufficiently prepared for Brexit. Many German companies are either doing enough to meet the challenges of Brexit.

Preprations and contingency planning is vital at this stage. Preparations needs to start now, today. Export to the United Kingdom are at risk when UK leaves the EU on 29 Match 2019, 199 days from now. The Port of Rotterdam Authority is now issuing a sharp warning for this.

There is still no agreement between Brussels and London on the conditions for the UK to leave EU through Brexit. Although there is much unclear about the deal (or no-deal) – also UK companies can do more than they do.

‘If they do not prepare, we will end up in deep trouble’, says head of external relations Mark Dijk, Port of Rotterdam on Tuesday at a meeting on the consequences of the Brexit for the port. Rotterdam is the largest sea port of Europe.

According to Dijk, research shows that only 18 percent of companies prepare themselves for Brexit. That is not an exclusive Dutch problem. Dijk is also worried about German entrepreneurs. Many German exports run via Rotterdam. “People are not working on that.”

The Port of Rotterdam will hold a test in November to check whether the port is Brexit-proof.

According to the Brexit coordinator of Customs, Roel van ‘t Veld,’ it still seems to be very uncertain for entrepreneurs. ‘Although there is no agreement about the conditions of Brexit, he believes that there are many things that companies can do. He warns that ‘it will never be as it was’, even if the UK remains part of the customs union.

Van ‘t Veld gives an example:’ If you want to export ready-made meals from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom, you need two documents. ‘ There are nine after Brexit. Something similar happens with the export from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands.

Some 35,000 companies that trade with the UK have never done business with countries outside the EU. ‘They will have to file a declaration with the customs authorities for each shipment,’ says Van ‘t Veld. According to MKB Nederland, it is true that, in particular, many smaller companies that do business with UK are ‘not or not at all’ working on Brexit preparations at all.

Companies do not have to sit still, says Van ‘t Veld. He knows a company that did a ‘test shipment’ to Canada to gain experience with the customs process. The United Kingdom will soon be in a similar position to the EU as that country. Don’t wait, prepare now.

Roel Van’t Veld will speak at the KGH Brexit Symposium in Soest on 20-21 November 2018. Don’t miss the event of the year.

For more information: Brexit Symposium