Against a background of the massive disruption to supply chains caused by Covid-19, the director general of the British International Freight Association (Bifa) says “it would be irresponsible of the UK government to try to abide by the timetable for ending its Brexit transition period”.
Bifa director general Robert Keen says that with negotiations between the EU and UK now stalled, he believes that if the UK does not seek to extend the transition period, it will not have the time to negotiate a deal that covers anything more than the bare minimum of trade arrangements.
“The government is still insisting it will not request an extension, saying the December 31st deadline is enshrined in law. But while Boris Johnson might insist that Brexit is done, we know from our regular meeting with government departments that there is a huge amount left in the civil service’s EU exit in-trays, and everybody is completely overwhelmed with the crisis.”
