Dozens of U.K. music stars including Elton John, Ed Sheeran and conductor Simon Rattle on Jan. 20, 2021, say musicians have been 'shamefully failed' by the British government, which has left them facing post-Brexit restrictions on touring in the European Union.Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press
It has taken a few weeks, but Brexit has finally begun to bite in Britain.
Britain cut its last remaining ties to the European Union on Jan. 1 and relations are now governed by the EU-U.K. Trade and Co-operation Agreement, which was finalized on Christmas Eve. The deal has meant a new reality of border checks, visa requirements and customs declarations – and not everyone is pleased.
Seafood exporters, grocery executives and even Sir Elton John have all expressed outrage this week at border hassles and restrictions caused by Brexit. And some say the problems could only get worse.
“It’s a ridiculous situation,” said Gary Hodgson, who runs Venture Seafood in the coastal town of Bridlington in northern England. Mr. Hodgson was among dozens of angry seafood traders who held a noisy demonstration outside Parliament this week to vent their fury over long border delays and suffocating paperwork that has crippled their industry. Some trucks carried signs saying “Brexit carnage” and other operators said their businesses wouldn’t survive if the border problems continue.
Mr. Hodgson said his company has found it next to impossible to ship its lobster, crab and other shellfish to Europe since Jan. 1. Some trucks have been held up for hours and others were turned back because of improper documentation. Most of Venture’s shellfish is shipped either live in seawater or in chilled containers as cooked products. Any serious delay can quickly spoil the goods – so far Mr. Hodgson said he has lost £200,000 ($350,000) in sales because of the border issues.
“We’re not asking for special treatment – just a little bit of common sense, and I think that’s been lost on both sides of the channel,” he said. He added that one trucker carrying shipments from ten exporters needed 400 documents – and each piece of paper had to be checked by border officers in Britain and France. He’s worried that the situation will worsen when commerce picks up after the pandemic subsides and customs officials become even more overwhelmed.
Sir Elton was among more than 100 musicians, including Sting, Ed Sheehan and Roger Daltry, who signed an open letter to the government on Wednesday criticizing post-Brexit visa rules. They said the requirements will force artists to obtain a work permit for each EU country they visit, a costly and complicated process that could have devastating consequences for touring rock bands, orchestras, ballet companies and many other performing-arts organizations. The group said the arts community had been “shamefully failed by their government” and they called on Britain and EU to negotiate visa-free access.
Grocery store chief executives from major chains (including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Iceland, Co-op and Marks & Spencer) joined the outcry over Brexit last week, issuing a joint statement demanding the government’s “urgent intervention to prevent significant disruption to food supplies” to Northern Ireland. Grocery-store shelves across the province have been depleted because of border controls arising from the Northern Ireland Protocol, a Brexit-related deal.
Under the protocol, Northern Ireland has remained aligned with EU regulations to ensure that there are no barriers along the frontier with Ireland, which is an EU member. That means that products coming into Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain must be checked to ensure they comply with EU standards. The result has meant long delays at ports in Belfast and Larne and some empty store shelves as suppliers in England stopped sending products to Northern Ireland to avoid the hassle. “[This] is an outrageous situation that we in Northern Ireland have been put in as a result of the protocol,” Northern Ireland’s agriculture minister, Edwin Poohs, told reporters recently.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has described the issues as “teething problems,” insisting that any glitches will be worked out. He’s also announced a £23-million ($39.6-million) package to help the seafood industry adjust to the new requirements and his government has committed to working with the EU to sort out the new visa regulations for artists.
Hansen Black is among those who are keeping an open mind and hoping the problems will be resolved. Mr. Black is the sales director at Shetland Fish in Peterhead, north of Aberdeen, which sells cod, haddock and other white fish to the EU. His first shipments this year were delayed by two days and some local fishermen docked their boats to wait for a solution to the border issues.
“Nobody would say that Brexit has got off to a wonderful start from the fishing industry’s point of view,” Mr. Black said. “But I think things will settle down and we’ll be able to export with a bit of confidence.”
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.