Brexit’s other border: EU-UK trade across the Channel, in numbers

For many good reasons, the border in Ireland is a central theme of the Brexit negotiations. Yet there’s another UK-EU border, the one in the English Channel, that warrants some consideration.

March 29, 2019 is Brexit Day — the day when the UK officially leaves the European Union. With just 140 days left until then, there is still a distinct possibility that the UK will leave the bloc in the hardest possible way, without a deal and without any kind of transitional arrangements.

At the moment, the sticking point in negotiations with the EU relates to the border in Ireland. However, should the doomsday scenario unfold next March, another “border” will immediately come into sharp focus — the English Channel, which separates England from France.

In the event of a so-called “no deal” Brexit, the scale of potential chaos across a multitude of areas is difficult to quantify.

In terms of trade, the UK would be forced to trade with the EU under WTO rules, meaning that customs, regulatory and other checks would need to take place at EU-UK borders while tariffs would be charged on goods exported between the jurisdictions.

That would mean dramatically changed circumstances at the main pressure points of EU-UK trade. There is no greater physical pressure point than the English Channel. Whether it is ship crossings from the Port of Dover to the Port of Calais, or the extensive land bridge crossings via the Channel Tunnel, the area is the ground zero of trade relations between the EU and the UK.

From here to an eternity

For more than 25 years, trade between the UK and the rest of the EU has been close to seamless. Up to 10,000 trucks roll on and off ferries either side of the crossing each day. Another 6,000 trucks cross the Channel Tunnel daily, as do trains, vans and cars. Delays are rare, because shared membership of the EU customs union and single market means there is no need for checks.

Source: dw.com