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The current UK prime minister may have got the type of Brexit he wanted or hoped for. He led the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum and we may assume that voted to leave the EU.The prime minister’s preferred version of Brexit is out of the customs union, out of the single market and with sovereignty as the priority. This is the version of Brexit which he has secured for himself, other elected politicians, voters and businesses.In practice, the prime minister’s version of Brexit means the UK left the EU aviation safety agency and chemical agency. Also, his government did not ask the EU for waivers covering SPS agri-food checks and safety and security declarations for hauliers.To achieve his Brexit, the UK prime minister and his ministers ignored concerns raised by UK business, abandoned offensive asks in talks with the EU and pursued sovereignty as an ideology in order to demonstrate that it can be done.Any version of Brexit has trade offs and policy choices. The UK minister chose sovereignty and the consequences include new paperwork, additional cross border transit times and extra costs.Once the UK prime minister can explain these trade offs in subsequent announcements, business and voters can then make better informed choice in the years ahead.

Reality.“We will likewise enforce our own rules for goods entering the UK.”Michael Gove MP, Cabinet minister, 10 February 2020The UK government are not ready for the Brexit of their own creation. Meanwhile, the French port authorities are ready - with a system in place preparing drivers on ferries on procedure on arrival.Today’s announcement is another government u-turn, this time by Michael Gove. And is yet another botched government project - following botched medical procurement, ventilator manufacture, track-and-trace mobile phone technology and contacting trace calls.It appears that Mr Gove and his ministers are preferring to adapt the more relaxed approach to border controls, which they similarly envisaged in readiness for their no-deal crisis in 2019. There will be a simplified customs process, no border inspection posts for livestock, and a waiver on security declarations.Representatives from the food-supply industry say, not controlling food imports will be the only workable way to control them.A government spokesperson says the approach reflects the damaging impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on UK business. On the day that the Office of National Statistics reported an unprecedented economic contraction of 20% for April 2020 in the UK economy.The UK government’s relaxed approach to imports from the EU may attract attention from other WTO members, who might expect a similarly relaxed approach to imports from their countries, too.Boris Johnson and his ministers are failing to apologise. They said they would be ready for the change in trading relationship with the EU in December 2020: either deal or no-deal. And that they did not need to extend the current transition period. What we now know is the government is not going be ready and needs emergency measures.My thanks to information provided by David Henig, Shane Brennan, Peter Foster and Michael Gove MP.

Definitely.Currently the whole of the UK is the EU’s customs union until at least 31 December 2020.Whatever happens, parts of the UK will be permanently within the jurisdiction of the EU’s Customs Union. Under the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement’s Northern protocol, businesses in Northern Ireland will be subject to the EU’s customs union tariffs and quotas when they import goods from the rest of the UK. They may be eligible for a rebate later on, depending on the eventual destination of their goods.There are now fresh reports of the UK government’s increasing unwillingness to either help or listen to UK business - in readiness for the eventual exit from the EU’s Customs Union.The UK government does not want a waiver for safety and security declarations for goods trade between the UK and EU. By contrast, Switzerland and Norway (neither EU members) have a wavier. As result of this UK government preference, HM Revenue & Customs estimate that UK business will be required to prepare 220 million new declarations annually.For instance, an exit declaration required requires 31 pieces for information. While the inbound equivalent requires 45 pieces of information. Each declaration is estimated to cost UK £15 with one shipment requiring more than 100 such separate declaration depending on the variety of goods being shipped.In 1992, when the EU’s single market was created, around 2,000 lorries used Channel ferries service daily between the UK and France. Now there are 10,000 daily lorry movements.Given the extra paperwork required for UK government’s preferred trading options after the standstill transition period, I’ve read several trading commentators suggesting that UK businesses prepare as if for the no-deal exit.My thanks to Peter Foster for his reporting and information.