The head of Port of Dover reported that the UK has an 11-month deadline to issue new customs systems across the country to avoid potential border checks blocking its biggest trade arteries when it fully leaves the European Union.
Specifically, after the UK officially departed the EU, Reuters states that the port has been constructed based on an one-way system, capable of handling more than 10,000 vehicles a day and does not have space or scope to deal with trucks that turn up with the wrong documents.
Therefore, it is crucial to reach a customs agreement in the transition period to keep the port’s trade flows.
Chief Executive Doug Bannister quoted to Reuters that this is a transition period; It is important to set out the parameters of that arrangement known to the industry as quickly as possible so that businesses have the longest opportunity to prepare.
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Although the Government has provided little detail on how nay new free trade deal will work, the port has warned that a two-minute delay in the system could lead to a 17-mile (27-km) queue of lorries, leading to a rupture of intricate supply chains that have built up across Britain and Europe in the 47 years of British EU membership.
Before the official Brexit, the port of Dover in September 2019 commented that it would be ready to cope with any situation in case that the no-deal Brexit scenario would be implemented.
This followed the fear of disruption after the Yellowhammer paper, which was leaked to The Sunday Times, presented the worst-case scenario and estimated that up to 85% of cargo trucks bound for France at the Channel Straits would not be ready for French customs, leading to tailbacks and delays of 40-60% within one day. Following the Yellohammer report, Bannister added that a disruption is expected, and no one can predict how long it will last.
