Lords Committee questions ports and logistics experts on post-Brexit trade in goods
Monday 1 November 2021
Tomorrow, Tuesday 2 November 2021, the House of Lords European Affairs Committee will take evidence from ports and from logistics and customs experts on the impact of Brexit on trade in goods and preparations for the introduction of new import controls.
The evidence session will take place at 4.00pm (GMT) on Tuesday 2 November 2021 in Committee Room 3 and can be viewed live on parliamentlive.tv
This will be the third oral evidence session of this inquiry. The launch of this inquiry comes nearly a year after the UK’s formal exit from the Single Market and Customs Union, and follows the UK Government’s decision on 14 September 2021 to further delay the introduction of new import controls on goods entering GB from the EU, many of which will now not be introduced until 1 July 2022.
In announcing this delay, the Government stated that its “own preparations, in terms of systems, infrastructure and resourcing, remain on track to meet” the original timetable, and that the delay instead reflected the impact of the pandemic and wider pressures on supply chains.
In contrast to this approach, the EU introduced full import controls from 1 January 2021 – leading to an asymmetry between GB exports to the EU and GB imports from the EU, with the former facing more checks and controls than the latter.
Witnesses:
- Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive at British Ports Association
- Dr Anna Jerzewska, Founder and Director at Trade and Borders
- Sarah Laouadi, Head of International Policy at Logistics UK
Topics for discussion will include:
- The construction of new border infrastructure
- Delays to import controls, particularly Sanitary and Phytosanitary requirements
- Preparations for the introduction of customs declarations and the expiry of the grace period for supplier's declarations of rules of origin
- The impact of EU checks and controls on exports from Great Britain
