We have to rethink deal with the EU

YOUR front-page article, headlined ‘Move To Poland (The Sentinel, November 12) shows a local haulier having harmful problems with bureaucracy crossing our border with Europe.

This illustrates one of the key weaknesses of a hard Brexit. Experts predicted bureaucracy would increase, as should be obvious when being in the EU provided more free trade.

One of your letter writers says we have to wait for the situation to improve, but that will not happen under current arrangements with the EU.

As Faisal Islam has said on the BBC, many economic experts say ‘it is more difficult for small businesses especially to trade with Europe, and the UK now has more limited access to European workers by design’. The problems are built into the new system.

The Office for Budget Responsibility in its report this year said there was ‘little sign of goods exports to noneu countries making up for lower exports to the EU’.

Remember that the trade agreements elsewhere are no more than a continuation of what we had when we were in the EU or what we would have if we had stayed (in the case of Japan) and new ones are negligible. The Australian agreement will harm our farmers, yet account for an increase of only 0.1 per cent over 15 years.

The only solution is at least to renegotiate our deal with the EU so that we restore some of the previous freedoms.

NIGEL JONES NEWCASTLE