September 8, 2020 – The UK withdrew from the European Union in January, but little has changed in terms of trade: The two sides are still operating under a transition agreement that keeps the existing rules in place. That deal expires December 31, and negotiators from London and Brussels are in an eighth round of talks about what post-Brexit trade will look like. On Monday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that his government would be comfortable with ending the talks if they do not produce a result before an upcoming EU summit scheduled for October 15. "If we can’t agree by [October 15], then I do not see that there will be a free-trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on," Johnson said. "I want to be absolutely clear that, as we have said right from the start, that would be a good outcome for the UK. As a government we are preparing, at our borders and at our ports, to be ready for it." The UK’s leading logistics, road haulage and forwarding associations have called for an “urgent roundtable” with government ministers to address the “significant gaps” in border plans to take effect after the Brexit transition period on December 31. A letter to Michael Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, from Logistics UK, the British International Freight Association, the Road Haulage Association and the UK Warehousing Association, said: “As key participants in the supply chain who will be required to deliver a functional operating border for GB and EU traders next year, we have visibility of the current state of preparedness, which, as it stands, has significant gaps.” The letter continued: “If these issues are not addressed disruption to UK business and the supply chain that we all rely so heavily on will be severely disrupted."
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