BMPA prepares a conference to take a closer look at Brexit impact
"So, if a Brexit deal is done and we leave the EU. What next?", asks Peter Hardwick, the new trade policy advisor for the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA). The BMPA 2019 Conference, scheduled for June 5, in London, will look at the options and challenges facing the UK as the country potentially leave the world’s only full customs union and the Single Market.
The trade deals that are going to be signed by a post-Brexit Britain are crucial for the meat industry in the country and for partners across the globe. One of the topics regards the time of expedition in the light of Britan's departure from the Single Market. "Where can we look to see how this might work…or not and in particular, to see how we can maintain the frictionless trade we currently enjoy with the EU or at the very least minimise that friction?
Several examples are cited including the Norway-Sweden border; 1630 km long with 10 approved border crossings, all of them with customs controls on at least one side of the border. There are 30 other crossings which can be used by private cars or commercial vehicles which are pre-cleared. Otherwise commercial lorries carrying goods have to queue to submit papers for inspection and stamping.
The average waiting time at a Sweden-Norway border crossing is eight minutes, though it can take hours on busy days. To put this into perspective a truck passes through the Dover corridor every 8 seconds on average!", explains Mr Hardwick.
The Norwegian model is probably not going to be adopted by the UK in a future relationship with the EU as obligations that are going to be imposed to the British part are "almost certainly too onerous for political acceptance", believes Peter Hardwick. Various solutions are going to be presented by Lars Hoelgaard, a former Deputy Director General in Dg Agriculture and currently a partner in Trade Up, an International Trade Consultancy.
Another hot topic is represented by a future trade deal with the US, which is seen as a key objective, second only perhaps to its trading relationship with the EU. Different scenarios regarding the trade between Great Britain and the US are going to be presented by Bill Westman, the Senior Vice President of International Affairs and Administration at the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) in Washington, D.C.
One of the challenges in securing a deal between the two parts regards the use of antimicrobial rinses, which can become a deal breaker.
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