opinion Getting it Right In comparison to other industries in the UK, there has been little
conditions that surrounded the transition were not ideal for promoting
complaint by companies serving or servicing the livestock feed industry,
trade between the UK and its former trading partners. Those conditions
following the country’s final withdrawal from the European Union in 1
need to be addressed. It is fully accepted that, for a variety of reasons,
January 2021.
commercial and trade between the UK and Brussels will need to be
There was one intervention from a company closely involved in the manufacture and distribution of feeds for pets in the United Kingdom
documented; the question is to what extent. That is the purpose of the proposed exercise.
and the Republic of Ireland. The company concerned reported, in its
The question of Northern Ireland’s situation as part of the UK
annual Report and Accounts, that the departure of the UK from the EU
(the only part of the UK with a physical border with a member of the
‘has led to some difficulties in distributing to customers in the European
EU) will also have to be addressed in the same terms as the enquiry
Union’. However, the company went on to observe that these difficulties
into the documentation of trade between the UK as a whole and the
are ‘currently being managed’ which, after all, is what commercial
European Union. Both parts of the island of Ireland are in much the
companies do all the time.
same post-Brexit boat. The Republic of Ireland has been independent
Nevertheless, for both companies and individuals in the UK
of the UK for a century but the UK is still the biggest source of Irish
dealing with the EU, the impact of Brexit has undoubtedly been what
imports of goods and its fourth largest customer for goods exports. It
one company called ‘substantial’. And one of the most immediate
does not need to be pointed out that, self-evidently, consumers in both
impacts had been what some observers have termed the ‘excessive
countries share many tastes.
bureaucratizing’ of trade between the United Kingdom and the remaining
It is not clear as to the extent to which the Trade and Cooperation
countries of the EU; in other words, the volume of paperwork that must
agreement that came into force on New Year’s Day 2021 will
accompany goods moving between the two parties. This is reported by
encompass the provisions of any agreement on limiting the extent
companies large and small as being substantial. Individuals, too. report
of documentation between the UK and the European Union. The
that significant amounts of paperwork have been demanded.
EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement concluded between the
In one case that has come to the notice of this publication, this
EU and the UK sets out preferential arrangements in areas such as
was required in respect of a single bottle of wine sent from the UK as
trade in goods and in services, digital trade, intellectual property,
a gift by a customer to a friend – not in a different country, but actually
public procurement, aviation and road transport, energy, fisheries,
to Northern Ireland.
social security coordination, law enforcement and judicial cooperation
The new trade frontier between the Province and the British
in criminal matters, thematic cooperation and participation in Union
mainland was intended, as the Economist put it, as ‘a conflict-prevention
programs. It is underpinned by provisions that ensure a level playing
measure, allowing Britain to leave the European Union’s single market
field and respect for fundamental rights.
without reimposing a hard border between Northern Ireland and the
What UK companies need to agree on with their suppliers and
Republic to the south’. However, Unionist politicians, angered by the
customers is the necessary extent of the documentation that those
disruption that ensued, have called for the arrangement to be scrapped
companies require for the conduct of their business.
– calls accompanied by rioting youths, reportedly egged on by loyalist
All the forgoing is not to deny that there have already been
paramilitaries. The turmoil culminated with the enforced resignation
efforts to reduce the amount of bureaucratic confusion generated by
of Northern Ireland’s First Minister, Arlene Foster who had reluctantly
EU rules and regulations. As has been widely observed, reducing the
accepted the protocol.
cost of regulation for business is crucial for growth. Across Europe,
Going back to first principles, it must be recognized that the
governments and EU institutions are recognizing that removing
European Union is the UK’s largest single trading partner, an
unnecessary EU burdens is vital to maintaining the competitiveness of
agglomeration of (according to the estimate published by Eurostat on
businesses. ‘We need a regulatory framework in Europe which fosters
1 January 2020) 448 million citizens and with an economy estimated
innovation, skilled jobs, and access to world markets,’ according to
at €13.5 trillion. It also sits, as it were, on the UK’s doorstep, unlike
the Europe Fit for the Digital Age report from the EU Commission.
the much-trumpeted trade deal with Mr. Trump’s United States,
Nor should the effort to reduce the impact and cost of regulation be
the immediate prospects for which his successor, Joe Biden, has
confined to rules originating in Brussels, but rather it should apply to
downplayed.
rules generally. Subject to commercial and other legal provisions,
Given the circumstances which accompanied the UK’s decision to depart from the European Union, it is understandable that many of the
Page 2 May/June 2021 Feed Compounder
agreement between suppliers and customers should be always be aimed at ‘getting it right’. Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd www.cfegroup.com
