British Ports Association Chief calls for frictionless trade post Brexit

Speaking at the Freight Transport Association’s post-Brexit ‘Keep Britain Trading’ conference in London the British Ports Association’s Chief Executive Richard Ballantyne made the case a frictionless trade agreement between the UK and EU following Brexit.

He said: “From the point of view of trade and freight flows, probably the number one Brexit related concern from the ports sector is facilitation, with potential major challenges on Ro-Ro and ferry routes. Currently freight on Ro-Ro routes, which exclusively serves EU routes, has no systematic frontier controls and requirements for customs declarations. Ports are by their nature bottlenecks so any delays to freight flows at the border can lead to major disruptions and operational challenges.

“The ports industry is definitely focusing on the opportunities of Brexit and to make it work for the country. UK Government now has it in its power to design a trade strategy which will not impose new border controls and avoid delays for the logistics sector.”

The conference offered a forum for the freight sector to debate and examine the implications of leaving the EU, with a keynote speech from The Rt Hon David Jones MP, Minister of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union and discussions on free trade with representatives from the Commonwealth Secretariat and global shippers.

For more information visit www.britishports.org

26th March 2017