News Corona crisis
Chaos on British borders. What are the consequences?
The expected Brexit chaos has unexpectedly been brought forward 10 days, now that France has decided to also stop the transport of goods to the United Kingdom. All British borders were closed to passengers on Sunday 20 December. The decision comes exactly at the busiest time of the year.
Every day, hundreds of trucks drive back and forth from the European mainland to the United Kingdom (UK) through the Channel Tunnel. In addition, goods are flown in from many airports and via ports such as Rotterdam, Dunkerque and Calais. Conversely, there is export from the UK. All this is now coming to a sudden standstill, as the policy is tightened more and more.
Freight transport is at a standstill
After the UK announced that it had discovered a mutated and possibly more contagious variant of the coronavirus, developments followed quickly. On Sunday, all borders were closed to people. France has decided today (Monday 21 December) to also suspend freight transport. The import and export must therefore take place via the port of Rotterdam, among others.
The last month of the year is normally the busiest time of the year. Then 10.000 trucks a day cross the border at Dover. Despite the lockdown, it remains a time in which more and more luxurious food is consumed. Many of these products are imported from the mainland, which is now extremely difficult. A disaster for the inhabitants of the UK, but also for European exporters.
The Netherlands: don't take any risks
Transport & Logistics Netherlands (TLN) strongly advises Dutch companies not to transport goods to the UK. They fear that drivers will get stuck on the island and not be able to return home. The organization first wants to have clarity about this. The standstill is similar to the situation during the first coronavirus outbreak last spring, Evofenedex says. They are the business association for trade and logistics. Even then the situation was extremely chaotic, but later that calmed down. The question now is what will be arranged to allow the flow of goods to continue.
For the time being, the Netherlands has only imposed a ban on passenger transport to and from the UK. The port of Rotterdam, with a ferry service to, among others, Harwich and Hull, is therefore accessible for goods transport. France goes a step further by closing all freight transport for 48 hours. Only when goods are exported unaccompanied by people are products allowed into the country.
Everything via Rotterdam
Not only do the British people fear empty shelves at Christmas, it is also a disaster for exporters. For example, for companies that export lamb to the mainland. The products sometimes have a limited shelf life. An emergency plan has now been put into effect in the country, whereby roads are closed and thousands of trucks are offered a parking space. An exporter of lamb is now trying to get its products onto the continent via Rotterdam, he tells Farmers Weekly, but delays are increasing due to enormous demand. "Some slaughterhouses have now stopped slaughtering because of this."
It is uncertain whether France will keep its borders closed for more than 48 hours. If that is the case, then the disaster is incalculable. The British government will also discuss the problems on Monday 21 December. News about this was not announced on Monday afternoon. The government is also consulting with France about reopening the border for freight transport.
New lockdown
More than 15 countries have now introduced rules about traveling to and from the UK. At the same time, residents have to deal with stricter corona rules and residents of South East England have to go into a new lockdown. It means that Christmas cannot be celebrated with family or friends. With this, the UK is doing everything possible to limit the spread of the new variant of the corona virus as much as possible.
Niels van der Boom
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