Telford freight company urges European hauliers to be more prepared
Shropshire companies have prepared well for the UK’s exit from Europe but a lack of organisation across the border is causing unnecessary hold ups, according to an international trade expert.
As the end of the first month operating under new EU trade rules approaches, Anton Gunter, managing director of Telford-based Global Freight Services Ltd, said the level of disruption experienced had not been on the scale initially feared however, there were several issues which needed to be resolved.
“It would seem that Shropshire businesses and those elsewhere across the UK have prepared well for the transition and have everything in place to enable customs clearances to take place as swiftly as possible,” said Mr Gunter.
“The issues we’re encountering seem to be as a result of European countries on the whole not being as prepared as they should be.
“This is particularly the case with hauliers. Many drivers are turning up without the correct paperwork and with little knowledge of the new UK guidance.
“As a result, they are not following basic rules such as being prepared for customs clearance and are imposing their own rules which is causing problems and delays.
“What we really need is for hauliers to do a bit more forward planning to help the process run more smoothly.”
The concerns come as freight forwarders elsewhere across the UK fear that EU hauliers are turning their back on UK jobs because of new requirements for European transport firms to have to stump up tens of thousands of pounds in VAT and tariff guarantees.
It’s understood many EU companies providing shipping services do not want to face the additional financial costs and so are turning down jobs which require travel to the UK.
Commenting on the issue Mr Gunter said: “We like others in the industry are concerned about the situation. We are already seeing some delays as a result of larger hauliers not wanting to be flexible but we have good relations with our agents in Europe and we are working through the new processes together to try and overcome any issues.”
New trade rules for UK companies importing from or exporting to the EU came into force on January 1.
Throughout 2020, Global Freight supported hundreds of businesses with their export and import preparations through online webinars and one-to-one consultations.