The march of folly

Finally the UK is to start checking imports of food and agricultural products into the UK. Eight years after the vote to leave the EU, and four years after the UK actually left the EU the British government has finally managed to introduce some checks at its borders.

Not many checks it is fair to say, the system is not yet good enough, not yet ready, delays would be caused if it was introduced fully but the charges will be collected none the less. So added costs and a worse system than before and even then a system that does not work.

As a metaphor for Brexit it is hard to beat.

The obvious solution is that the UK should continue to have its food and agricultural standards in lock step with the EU, which is a rule setter and then the checks would not be necessary.

That would be the sensible, rational, logical thing to do, but it is currently impossible and every day makes it less likely to happen, as standards slide apart and as the EU has less and less reason to re-negotiate a deal that has been in place for years.

The damage is real, is going to get worse and there is no consensus on how to reduce it, so it won’t and can’t be reduced.

A reset of political and economic thinking on a huge scale would be necessary to make that happen, there is no sign of that at all.

Jonty’s Jottings

Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.

By Jonty Bloom Media