The UK border: will supply chain problems get worse?

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From disrupted supply chains to a shortage of lorry drivers, Brexit and Covid have combined to cause major problems at the UK border. Nando’s, McDonald’s and the Co-op are just three of the firms to have been affected.

As pandemic-related travel problems continue, the true impact of post-Brexit border rules has yet to hit. Full border checks on EU imports to Great Britain will only come into effect later this year, while extensive controls on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland may be introduced in the autumn. Businesses and individuals are currently left in limbo as negotiations between the UK and EU continue over how the Northern Ireland protocol will operate long-term.

Will border disruption worsen as the year goes on? How ready are business and government for the introduction of new controls?  Is the UK’s new immigration to blame for staffing issues? And what more can done to solve existing problems and prepare for further changes.

To discuss these issues, we were joined by an expert panel:

• William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce
• Elly Darkin, Senior Associate at Global Counsel
• Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs
• Ian Wright, Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation.

The event was chaired by Joe Marshall, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government.

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