One of Peter White’s trucks carrying $136,267 worth of fresh lamb waited at a French port for 44 hours as its paperwork was cleared. Yet Ford Motor Co. has shipped engines from its British factory into the European Union with few problems.
Britain’s first weeks of doing business outside of the EU have been mixed, as goods from large companies mainly sail through ports but many small businesses struggle with the new post-Brexit rules.
Still, the true test of the U.K.’s new relationship with the EU will come in the next few weeks, say trade experts and companies, as shipment volumes increase and the difference between teething problems and permanent obstacles becomes more apparent at one of the world’s biggest trade borders.
For the first time in almost half a century, goods moving between the EU and U.K. starting Jan. 1 have faced customs checks and the need to meet separate sets of standards and regulations. In an extra complication, goods moving to Northern Ireland—part of the U.K.—from the rest of Britain face checks, following a compromise to avoid a land border with the Republic of Ireland, which is in the EU.
Britain’s big grocers have flagged only minor disruptions to food imports, while the country’s ports report few problems with the container traffic that makes up 60% of U.K. trade or issues with their other major businesses.