London, UK: Road Haulage Association members are increasingly concerned about the Windsor Framework’s lack of clarity, with concerns about increasing costs and potential delays in transit times, according to managing director Richard Smith.
The Windsor Framework is a proposed post-Brexit legal agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, announced on 27 February this year. It is designed to address the problem of the movement of goods between the European single market and the United Kingdom in the current Northern Ireland protocol.
The RHA wants answers to a number of questions, including:
- The Trusted Trader Scheme – who will run it? What are the costs and what happens in cases of non-compliance?
- How long will Government continue to fund the Trader Support Service?
- How will the green lane and red lane will work in practice?
- Impact on groupage loads where goods primarily for end consumption in Northern Ireland, mixed with goods of an unknown destination, are subject to full customs and SPS controls in the Red Lane.
“It is vital that the introduction of new systems and major changes are better managed and prepared for,” says Smith. “We are engaging with Government officials to seek urgent clarity for our members.”
In March, a survey by Logistics UK revealed that most companies still have a raft of questions about how the Framework will work. Some 79% of those surveyed welcomed the certainty and more than half agreed the deal would reduce administrative costs. But 47% of those surveyed were either uncertain or doubted the extent to which the agreement would deliver greater affordability for their businesses, and more than 31% were concerned about the Framework providing certainty, stability or simplicity for ongoing trading relationships,
