Ahead of Brexit, EU at work to keep goods flowing

The Dutch government is hiring nearly 1,000 new customs officials. Britain’s health agency is mulling how to ensure medicine supplies. Ireland is preparing border inspections for food shipments and even racehorses.

Call it contingency planning. Call it preparedness. Just try not to call it panic.

As Prime Minister Theresa May struggles to navigate Britain’s divorce from the European Union, the disarray is amplifying the need for governments around the bloc to have backup plans for a variety of chaotic scenarios.

The European Commission, the EU’S executive arm, issued an urgent advisory Thursday for countries in the region to accelerate preparations “at all levels and for all outcomes.” It warned that Britain’s withdrawal would have a significant effect on supply chains, trade, transportation and personnel. Getting ready immediately “is of paramount importance,” it said.

Banks are already moving staff out of Britain, and companies like Airbus are increasing inventory to insure against shortages.

But countries that conduct a lot of trade with the continent’s second-largest economy face a particular challenge: How to manage the massive flow of TVS, car parts, drugs and every other product that crosses their borders to get to and from Britain.

Many have been preparing for a nightmare scenario in which Britain fails to negotiate an orderly departure from the EU, a process known as Brexit, while assuming that a rosier outcome will prevail. That would involve keeping Britain tied to European regulations and customs arrangements, allowing goods to continue traveling easily across borders and safeguarding critical supply chains and jobs.