UNB, Holland :
Traffic moves quickly and smoothly at the Hook of Holland ferry terminal on the western edge of Europe’s biggest port.
A queue of trucks parked parallel to a giant white ferry rumbles forward and one-by-one the drivers make a sharp left turn onto a ramp that takes them up and into the belly of the ship bound for the English port of Harwich. Each truck takes just minutes to get on board, waved forward by a dock worker.
In the Netherlands, a major exporter to Britain and gateway to and from Europe through its ports, there are fears that freight will have a much longer wait come March 30, the day after Britain leaves the European Union.
Gert Mulder of the Dutch Fresh Produce Center fears that the slick boarding procedures could be slowed to a crawl if negotiators fail to finalize terms of Britain’s divorce from the EU and customs and food safety checks are introduced for exports heading across the North Sea to Britain.
EU and British negotiators are in frantic talks to seal a deal on relations after Brexit day, with leaders meeting for a summit Wednesday and Thursday. If they fail, a so-called “hard Brexit” – with border controls and tariffs – comes a step closer.
Just one truck driver showing up at the docks without the proper paperwork and being forced to turn around in the cramped dockside “could throw it all into chaos,” says Mulder, whose organization represents some 350 traders and growers’ associations who export hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) worth of produce to Britain every year. “Fruit and vegetables are quite easy at the moment,” Mulder says. “But if there’s one truck that’s not well documented, everything blocks.”
Mulder is not alone. British and Dutch authorities have warned that failure to reach a Brexit deal could lead to huge traffic jams approaching ports on both sides of the North Sea as truck drivers and customs officials adapt to Britain’s life outside the EU’s single market and customs union.
Roel van ‘t Veld, Brexit coordinator with the Netherlands Customs Authority, says that the number of completed forms drivers need to leave the EU and enter Britain could rise from one or two now to nine.
Mark Dijk of the Port of Rotterdam says that many drivers who arrive without the correct papers should be able to straighten out the problem within minutes. But he added: “Two-to-five minutes … where 400-800 trucks are being loaded within an hour can be a lot of time.” Dijk says the port is looking for extra space to park trucks as the Brexit date looms.
Dutch ports handle shipments to Britain from the rest of the EU and further afield, and a report by the Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis estimates that cargo leaving the Port of Rotterdam could drop by 4.5 percent if there is no Brexit deal.
Dutch authorities say they are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. The customs service is hiring some 900 new staff, the food and animal welfare authority is scouring southern and eastern Europe for qualified vets to carry out checks on live imports. The government has set up an online Brexit counter and checklist for companies doing business with Britain, but a report this year warned that only 18 percent of Dutch companies were prepared. Some 35,000 Dutch companies that do business with Britain have no experience of dealing with countries outside the EU single market.
