Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Britain has faced threats of food insecurity and shopping panic a few days before Christmas, as European nations have restricted trade and travel to protect themselves from a returning coronavirus, giving Britain a preview of border chaos which will come in the absence of a Brexit agreement.
Fearing a new, rapidly spreading strain of the virus that forced a tight blockade in England, France suspended its trip to the UK for 48 hours on Sunday and Germany stopped flights arriving from the UK. The crisis has given renewed urgency to negotiations for a trade agreement with the European Union, which remained at a critical stage after weekend talks. The French government will want a stricter testing regime before lifting the blockade.
A truck stops in the port of Dover, Great Britain, on December 21st.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Late on Sunday, the Port of Dover stopped transporting goods moved by truck to France, while allowing unaccompanied goods to move. Although traffic in the UK is unaffected, trucks often bring supplies in both directions, and the latest outbreak in the heart of the country may discourage them from entering the island.
The disruptions expose Britain’s trade vulnerabilities just as a 4 1/2-year odyssey of leaving the EU shifts from political rhetoric to economic reality. Business groups facing catastrophic losses have called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to act soon, with 18,000 Logistics members UK calling for the rapid testing of Covid-19 trucks leaving the country as the fastest way to protect supply chains.
‘Nightmare’
“This is the pre-Christmas nightmare,” said James Withers, executive director of the food and beverage group in Scotland.
He said there were more than 100 lorries loaded with seafood to cross the border into the EU, to the wholesale Christmas markets in France and Spain, which would normally take place on Wednesday. It is feared that live crustaceans will be damaged if kept at the border, and the government must act today to ensure that goods can continue to move, Withers said.
French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said European nations were working on a “solid health protocol” to be implemented “in the next few hours”. Container ports and ferry terminals were already crowded due to storage before the deadline of 31 December, marking a final break in the European single market.
What Bloomberg Economics says …
“We now expect the economy to experience a double recession, with production contracting in both the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2021. The big question posed by the shifted version of the virus and the last round of restrictions is what comes after Christmas. “
– Dan Hanson, economist
Complete the full report, click here
In the UK, officials have tried to downplay the urgency of the situation. Jamie Davies, the prime minister’s spokesman, urged the British not to buy food in a panic and said “we have strong supply chains and it is the case that most of our food does not enter through the short straits”.
Asked about the vaccine, Davies also said that the UK already has “most of this year’s supply” from Pfizer Inc.
Border chaos comes at the end of a year in which Johnson died close to the virus and has been heavily criticized for its response to the pandemic – which has seen Britain suffer the worst blow to the production of any major economy, such as and a death toll only after Italy in Europe.
British supermarket chain J Sainsbury Plc said it was considering using air transport for products from Europe. If the situation does not change, Sainsbury’s will begin to see “gaps” in the coming days, supplying some fruits and vegetables, said Victoria Durman, head of corporate communications.
Outside the city of Dover, trucks began lining up on the M20 as the “Operation Stack” emergency plan was launched, with drivers unable to board ferries. The Department for Transport was also preparing Kent Manston Airport, which is being revised to accommodate up to 4,000 vehicles, as part of Britain’s no-agreement planning, according to kent.gov.uk.
“There could be a downtime at some of the UK’s ferry ports for the next 48 hours,” said Richard Ballantyne, executive director of the British Ports Association. “We are confident that the UK will continue to be supplied.”
Hammered stocks
Shares in the UK for travel, leisure and retail trade fell on Monday as flights were canceled, while home stocks such as Ocado Group Plc, received a boost. Airlines were among the hardest hit, along with Father British Airways IAG SA decreases by up to 20% and Easyjet Plc fell by up to 18%.
Berenberg economists cut their growth forecast for 2021 for the UK last week to 7.3% from 8% due to new blockages. The economic pull of tougher restrictions and trade disruption will only deepen the country’s hole, triggering more damage ranging from mother and pop retailers to already struggling European airlines.
There are political consequences. Johnson abruptly canceled plans to allow families to meddle during the holidays, as the government warned over the weekend that the new strain of the virus is “out of control.”
There were scenes of panic in the stations, people defying the rules of social distance to get out of the capital.
More than 16 million Britons now have to stay at home, mainly in London and the south-east of England. The measures prohibit the mixing of households in the capital and the south-east and allow households to see each other on Christmas Day in the rest of England.
– With the assistance of Joe Easton, Kitty Donaldson, Deirdre Hipwell and Charlotte Ryan
(Updates with the latest responses from the UK and France on the second paragraph health protocol.)