Manufacturers’ association says max fac customs proposal is a ‘non-starter’ to the UK’s Brexit problems
The government should not waste any more time or money exploring the so-called “maximum facilitation” option for future UK and EU customs, the manufacturers’ association has said.
The max fac proposal – which would use technology to allow so-called “trusted traders” to cross the Northern Ireland and other EU borders freely after Brexit – has been slammed by EEF as “naïve” and “unrealistic”, with “immense” consequences if it fails.
On a recent visit to Canada, the EEF chief executive, Stephen Phipson, was able to see how max fac works in practice across the country’s border with the US. He claims that despite significant investment, only 100 of the most trusted Canadian companies were able to bypass customs checks.
In a letter to the business secretary, Greg Clark, he said that because UK manufacturers operated on the assumption of “just in time” delivery, putting lorries through even “modest” customs checks at times of industrial action would result in Kent being brought to a standstill and tailbacks that would “stretch from Dover to London and Calais to Paris”.
Read more: Boris Johnson says Britain must come ‘fully out’ of the customs union
“No one doubts the technology exists,” Phipson said. “It is in place in many locations around the world. The issue is whether it is good enough to provide a frictionless border and can be implemented quickly enough to be ready for December 2020.
“I think that the answer to this is an overwhelming no,” he continued. “It may have some long-term benefits, but suggesting max fac is a solution to our immediate problems is a non-starter.”
Max fac is just one of the options being explored by the government as it prepares to take the UK out of the EU.
The other is Theresa May’s preferred customs partnership, in which the UK in would stick closely to the EU’s customs regime and collect tariffs on behalf of Brussels.
It has not gone down well with Brexiters, with Boris Johnson branding it “crazy”, while backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg labelled it “cretinous”.
The head of HMRC, Jon Thompson, warned that the max fac option could cost up to £20bn and take up to three years to implement, while the customs partnership would cost £700m and take up to five years to install.
Read more: Brexiters’ favoured customs proposal could cost businesses £20bn