Squabbling over whether to use red or blue ink on post-Brexit customs forms is among the problems plaguing exporters who are facing a \u201cwhack-a-mole\u201d situation, a Scottish trade body has warned.<\/p>\n
Scotland Food and Drink chief executive James Withers told MSPs the sector has faced approximately \u00a31m in lost sales every day during \u201can absolutely dreadful first few weeks of trading in this post-Brexit world\u201d.<\/p>\n
Among the \u201ccatalogue of problems that have just been racking up day by day\u201d since the implementation of the Brexit trade deal, Withers revealed there was an \u201congoing debate about whether forms should be filled in in red ink or blue ink\u201d.<\/p>\n
Giving evidence to Holyrood\u2019s Europe Committee, he explained:<\/p>\n
You think you get the right colour of ink and you\u2019re told that the signature needs to be in a different colour to the colour that the letterhead is on. Part of the challenge here \u2013 particularly the other side of the channel \u2013 is you\u2019ve got a lot of young, inexperienced customs agents.<\/p>\n
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You can get a view on colour on one particular day, but then the shift changes the next day in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais or Dunkirk, and you get a different kind of interpretation.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s extremely difficult for businesses to plan and that\u2019s why this hasn\u2019t just been an issue for small businesses; even big multinational companies who have got export departments, who have got export paperwork in their DNA because they sell into North America and China, have found the system\u2019s fallen down and loads are getting held up.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Withers also cited IT system failures affecting the UK and French governments, and warned that the situation was likely to get worse before it gets better.<\/p>\n
He added:<\/p>\n
The problems are multiple and at no one point, so it\u2019s very difficult to target the solution very quickly at one thing. It\u2019s like whack-a-mole: a problem crops up, you hit it on the head and fix it and then another two crop up at the same time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\nDevastating evidence today from @NFUStweets<\/a>& @scotfoodjames<\/a> to @SP_European<\/a>. Brexit bureaucracy has caused massive fall in volume of meat exports to EU, huge increase paper work. Goods held up because ink on paperwork the wrong colour! #brexit<\/a> Watch here https:\/\/t.co\/DksytYaZwW<\/a><\/p>\n
— Joan McAlpine (@JoanMcAlpine) February 4, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n