The risk is the cost
A threatened strike by vets and port officials in Northern Ireland is likely to expose the full costs of Brexit to the food industry.
Exports to NI from the UK which might also be sold in the South and beyond have to be checked at the border, that is the border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Industry experts are already warning about empty shelves, as many goods sold in NI are also sold in the rest of the island and so have to be checked.
The same already happens to UK exports to the EU from elsewhere and would be imposed on imports if the London government could get its act together.
So, strikes at Dover or elsewhere would hold the whole country’s food distribution system to ransom and we import at least 40% of our food. Even without strikes the distribution industry is warning of chaos when the rules are introduced and the checks start.
The obvious way round this is to follow the EU’s food and agricultural standards as we have done for years, solving problems at the NI border and every other border too.
We could, of course, refuse to follow the EU’s rules and impose tougher ones, that would be fine too as tougher ones would exceed EU rules. But all this mess is because the Tory government wants lower standards not higher ones.
As a result no one trusts them, food has to be checked and the system is already creaking.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media