Cyprus Mail 11 December 2020 - by Reuters News Service
Lorries and other freight vehicles queue on the motorway on the way into the port of Dover, in Dover, Britain, December 10, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on there was “a strong possibility” Britain and the EU would fail to strike a new trade deal.
After a meeting with his senior ministers, Johnson said the treaty on the table did not work for Britain.
“We need to be very, very clear there’s now a strong possibility, strong possibility that we will have a solution that’s much more like an Australian relationship with the EU, than a Canadian relationship with the EU,” Johnson said.
With Johnson’s comments in mind Britain’s retail industry repeated a warning on Friday that shoppers faced higher food prices from next year if new tariffs were imposed in the absence of an agreement.
“Currently, 80 per cent of UK food imports come from the EU and without a tariff-free deal, supermarkets and their customers face over 3 billion pounds in tariffs from 2021,” said Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The BRC said tariffs would force food retailers to raise prices to mitigate the additional costs.
It said many non-food retailers would also face large tariff bills for EU-sourced products, including clothes and ceramics.
Under Britain’s new tariff schedule, which would apply from Jan. 1 if a deal is not agreed, 85% of foods imported from the EU would face tariffs of more than 5%.
The average tariff would be more than 20%, including 48% on beef mince, 16% on cucumbers and 10% on lettuce.
The BRC also highlighted the challenges January posed for seasonal produce, with a much higher proportion of fruit and vegetables imported from the EU at that time of year.
For example, Britain sources 85% of its tomatoes from the EU in January versus 30% in June.
It said retailers had increased their stock of tins, toilet rolls and other longer life products as part of their planning for a no-deal Brexit.
But it said ongoing uncertainty surrounding new checks and red tape from Jan. 1 meant disruption in the supply of many goods.
Trucks heading towards the English port of Dover were stacked up for miles on Thursday, just three weeks before Britain exits the European Union’s orbit in a potentially tumultuous finale to the five-year divorce, a Reuters photographer said.
Reuters pictures showed truck queues snaking into the night-time horizon. There was a queue ahead of the Eurotunnel freight entrance but the main tailback was on the approach to the Dover port terminal.
Logistics groups have reported surging demand from companies trying to bring parts, goods and food into the country before Britain leaves the EU’s single market and customs union, a move that is expected to cause even more disruption in January.
Highways England said there were high volumes of freight traffic heading towards the Port of Dover and that lorries had been stacked up along some roads to prevent the port from becoming overwhelmed.
The British government has warned that even with a trade deal, 7,000 trucks heading for the Channel ports in south-east England could be held in 100-km (62-mile) queues if companies do not prepare the extra paperwork required.
