UK Delays Brexit Border Checks on EU Goods

The U.K. will delay full border checks on some EU goods. (Westminster Daily)

The British Government announced that it would delay the implementation of full checks of some EU goods on March 11. Almost five years after its vote to leave the EU, the U.K. announced that the full checks would not occur until January 2022. The most recent push of the timeline was to provide relief for businesses amid the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this delay also demonstrates Britain’s inability to support the Brexit process.

These border checks were first intended to begin in January 2021 and have now been pushed back twice. The delays come amid trade tensions between the U.K. and the EU. Trade between the two entities has severely diminished, with German imports from the U.K. decreasing by 56 percent between January 2020 and January 2021. Additionally, Britain faces an exodus of firms, triggered by Brexit, which has further strained the relationship between the two. Europe, on the other hand, has implemented the checks as of January 1, which has greatly affected many businesses in the U.K.

According to the U.K. government, as a reason for the delay, businesses needed more time to ensure their ability to prepare for the changes brought on by Brexit. Worries over the ability to stock businesses, particularly supermarkets, were at the forefront of the argument for postponement. According to a survey by Make UK, 74 percent of companies “experienced or are experiencing delays” due to the Brexit transitions. Additionally, shipping costs have significantly risen. Many border posts are also not prepared for the checks that the transition entails. The lacking infrastructure particularly poses a problem between Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the two being split between the EU and the U.K.’s new rules. 

British businesses embraced the postponement of border checks, citing that potentially avoidable shipping delays could have caused serious repercussions to the British economy had the government not lengthened the transition. The delays have also increased tensions with the bloc in charge of trade with Northern Ireland, which has claimed violations of international law due to this delay. In order to address these claims, legal action may come from the European Commission. Additionally, rising tensions between the U.K. and the EU have alarmed businesses that possible impacts of these border checks might negatively impact the U.K. market and their ability to trade with the EU.

The combination of political and economic considerations lays out a potentially contentious road between the EU and U.K. in the Brexit transition. However, the necessity of these delays came from a lack of infrastructure that ultimately comes down to the government’s need to better prepare the country for the changes in trade that will be occurring. Visibility is a must in the coming months, particularly to prepare businesses for the process in the future.