Netherlands braced for customs chaos in event of no deal

The Netherlands does not have enough customs officers and inspection points to cope with its worst-case Brexit scenario in October, The Daily Telegraph can reveal. Port officials called for another delay to the divorce process and warned that shipments to the UK could be quarantined for up to 24 hours.

Dutch officials have spent the last two years meticulously preparing for

an avalanche of red tape after Brexit, launching a recruitment drive for 920 customs officers, new inspection posts to check animals and food, and 700 extra parking spaces at Rotterdam for lorries without the correct paperwork.

However, by Oct 31, only around 550 customs officials will have been fully trained, while investors have already pulled out of the inspection posts project and the port of Rotterdam does not expect to reach its target for overflow lorry spaces.

The frank assessments comes despite the Netherlands feeling confident that it is better prepared than the UK, as its targets are based on a worst-case scenario where disruption turns out to be three times more severe than predicted.

It also illustrates how even the most pragmatic and efficient countries in the EU are struggling to prepare for the challenge posed by no deal.

Port officials warned they expect disruption to last six to eight weeks from Nov 1, with non-compliant lorries carrying food for the UK quarantined for up to 24 hours, at which point food and flower shipments may go off before they reach British warehouses.

“A truck that does not have its papers in order is not allowed to enter the terminal because of limited space,” Mark Dijk, the port of Rotterdam’s external affairs manager, said.

“Every truck which is refused is guided by public road authorities to parking places and has 24 hours to get papers in order, otherwise it has to leave the port. With perishable goods, if they have to wait 24 hours then probably all the goods are not fresh anymore and can’t be used.”

The port hoped to set up 700 extra parking places to house the lorries, but Mr Dijk said there were “still 200 places we are lacking, which is a big problem…i don’t think we can reach 700 but we can run 600, I dare to say, on the 31 October.”

Another major issue is the lack of inspection facilities on Rotterdam’s north bank, which trades solely within the EU’S single market – but after Brexit will require customs and food checks due to EU rules.

An inspection post to check animals, plants and food for diseases was being prepared in nearby Naaldwijk, but the private company behind the scheme pulled out when Brexit was delayed by six months in March.

Mr Dijk warned this would mean that exports of live animals from the UK, such as the three shipments of breeding chicks which arrive each day at Rotterdam, would probably be scrapped altogether.

One back-up plan involves transferring all Uk-bound goods to Rotterdam’s south bank for inspections, but Mr Didk said this could prove to be a logistical nightmare.

“Every chance there is to have a Brexit with a deal, or not going on, is welcome. So of course we are hoping for an extra delay,” he added.

Roel van ‘t Veld, the Dutch customs authorities’ Brexit co-ordinator, insisted current staffing levels could cope with no deal, but stressed that port traffic would only run smoothly if all traders carried the right paperwork.

Mr van ‘t Veld warned that just one non-compliant lorry had the potential to derail the process, and urged all businesses to sign up for the Netherlands’ online Port Base system.

He added that many EU businesses had still not signed up for the €500 online service, perhaps because they believe Brexit will be delayed again.

Senior politicians in the Netherlands, one of the closest allies of Britain in the EU, are now pessimistic about the prospect of a deal, while one MP said of the political chaos in the UK: “Honestly, I don’t think the British are British any more.”

Pieter Omtzigt, the Dutch parliament’s Brexit rapporteur, said: “I sincerely doubt whether we are ready for a cliff-edge Brexit and have asked the government to send the latest planning and capacity to make sure we are as well prepared as possible.”

However, he added that: “I believe we are better prepared than the UK.”