Search Comment Central
Brexit EU chess game Edited

Who Needs EU Anyway - Britain's Day is Only Just Dawning!

Jack Mountney
January 15, 2021

The queues at Dover and Calais are a result of the EU trying to retain some semblance of credibility. They know Brexit will be a success, and are going to shameful lengths to dissuade others from following suit. They will not win, argues Jack Mountney.

4 years on from the Brexit referendum and we are still debating whether it was worth it? This is something many people would certainly change opinion on, especially business owners who have become hugely affected by new EU trade restrictions.

Although the smog of diesel no longer chokes the M20 as it did before the 31st December deal deadline, the future of UK trade with the EU remains muddied.  From health certificates to new taxes and additional paperwork, the cost of moving goods across the Channel is rising, not only financially but the extra burden of compliance has left thousands of businesses reeling under the pressure.

Before Brexit, small-businesses were throttled by EU red-tape including the 2009 restriction on banana quality banning those with "malformations and abnormal curvature". Leaving the EU promised a release from these shackles, but no! Is this the fault of deluded Brexiteer-loving politicians? No again! With each layer of newly-imposed EU legislation, the more you realise what British businesses' must still adhere to: "It's like an onion – the more you peel, the more you cry."

The effects of EU bitterness as Brexit amounts to a momentous constraint, disturbing supply lines and business shipments. Those worst affected are the UK's 5.9 million small-medium-sized businesses, which employ about three-in-five private sector workers. The EU seems determined to hamstring entrepreneurial Brits with a cacophony of bureaucracy in the form of customs declarations, rule of origin checks, product safety certificates, and food inspections which all form the trading regime.

Small businesses are being penalised by new EU import shipping taxes of £30 which will pad French coffers, and a further brokerage charge from couriers applying to sellers and consumers. The EU seems unashamed seeking to substitute UK small businesses with internal trade. This could provoke a huge economic shift for both UK and EU – all for the sake of saving the EU's damaged pride.

Fishing was one of the final sticking points in the post-Brexit trade talks. Fishing, whilst a small part of the economy, carries significant weight for the UK and the livelihoods of the 12,000 small fishing businesses involved. Under new trading rules, EU fishing vessels will still have full access to UK fish in UK waters until 2026, with a 25% cut gradually imposed on its quota. The deal will see quotas returned to the UK over the five year transition. But many still feel they have been "done up like a kipper".

Many have criticized the EU's, in particular France's, lacklustre approach to enforcing this new agreement after reports show European boats fishing in UK waters and landing in Denmark to avoid the new rules. With the boats landing in Denmark, processors there are cut out of trade agreements. The UK seems like the compliant party in this deal.

Trawlers are also coming to terms with newly-required stipulations. Vets are required to approve each consignment of fish and it is claimed they are taking up to six-times longer than expected to do so. This has led to orders being cancelled due to lorries not getting over the border quick enough and the fresh produce souring – this was the case with a Welsh shellfish wholesaler whose £50,000 shipment of shellfish was delayed for over 30 hours crossing the Channel. With 90% of Welsh shellfish being exported to the EU and the industry relying on seamless export to the continent, it is hard to see how these livelihoods will survive the EU's petty pugilism.

However, what the UK has lost in relative ease exporting to the EU, it has gained with a selection of new trading partners. The EU's attempts to make an independent UK's voyage outside the bloc seem disastrous, thus discouraging any other countries from following suit, look feeble when considering our strides in securing trade opportunities in Africa, the Pacific, and Asia.

Trade Secretary Liz Truss has signed ground-breaking new agreements in place with 62 countries around the world. The most recent being Australia. Government figures estimate this alone could increase exports to Australia by up to £900 million, increasing UK GDP by £500 million. Many 'Remainers' believe we are simply and desperately replicating our EU relationship. This may be true of the rollover agreements – but don't forget, they said any bilateral or multilateral trade for an independent UK was impossible to secure.

With the overwhelming prospects of American and Canadian deals also in the pipeline for 2021, these could collectively boost the UK economy by at least £100 billion by 2030. This collectively could be the answer that Brexit-affected small business owners needed – a new door has opened for these Brits to succeed!

The question remains, how beneficial will the Brexit deal be for businesses? With just 6% feeling fully prepared for the transition, it seems as though the EU is undermining its own deal. But with a new sunrise on the horizon, the UK is looking towards a new era of opportunity not dependent on EU bullying. The potential of trade deals with Africa and Trans-Pacific states will leave the EU and their self-inflated leverage redundant and bring much deserved prosperity for small-medium businesses many 'Remainers' thought unlikely – We proved them wrong once, and we will do it again!

Silhouette
Jack Mountney is an entrepreneur, a small-business owner, and an aspiring writer with an interest in UK, European, and Trans-Atlantic politics.
Border
Most Popular
Image: Chris Dorney / Shutterstock
The Digital Markets, Competition and...
AAQIL AHMED
Aaqil Ahmed
March 27, 2024
Shutterstock 2151518523
Moldova’s democracy is moving in...
Screenshot 2024 03 22 154542
Neil Watson
March 22, 2024
Image: Pexels / Pixabay
Upright and high-calibre individuals should...
1390 15x15 2023 03 10 205315 awuy
John Baron MP
March 26, 2024
What to read next
Shutterstock 1842001720 3
'Vaccine Passports' will not return our civil liberties lost to the...
Silhouette
Jack Mountney
April 8, 2021
Shutterstock 1935299387
In a week bookended by International Women's Day and Mother's Day...
Silhouette
Jack Mountney
March 15, 2021
Donald Trump Rally Gradient
The Republican Party is undergoing a soul search. Their choices lie...
Silhouette
Jack Mountney
March 4, 2021