The UK Parliament’s vote against the EU-UK negotiated Brexit Withdrawal Agreement significantly increases the risk of a no-deal Brexit, with dire consequences for the road transport industry.
IRU is deeply concerned about the effects of a no-deal Brexit on cross-Channel commercial road freight, passenger transport as well as about the huge impact it will have on the UK and EU economies and their citizens. The contingency plans from the European Commission and the UK Government will be unable to meet today’s operational needs of commercial road transport companies and their customers.
Matthias Maedge, leading IRU’s EU-related work, comments: “A no-deal Brexit should not have been an option, but it is now close to being a fact. With only two months to go, the lack of clarity is still our biggest challenge. Extremely serious economic consequences to society and businesses are to be expected as clarity on customs and market access for millions of commercial road transport operations going from and to the UK annually is still missing. Trade and the supply of goods will suffer, costs will increase by at least 10%. On a normal day, up to 10,000 trucks pass through the Port of Dover alone. IRU remains unconvinced, despite all contingency planning, that the commercial road transport operators, their customers and governments can be ready for a no-deal scenario by 30 March 2019.”
“No-deal” means that road transport companies will see their market operating rights seriously diminished and this will result in a negative impact on the supply of goods. An increasing number of companies in the EU are considering the suspension of operations in the days following the Brexit deadline.
IRU urges the EU and UK political decision-makers to provide clarity on the way forward after 30 March 2019 and increase their efforts to put the right solutions for road transport in place.