Valentine’s Day, flowers, wine and gifts with new Brexit rules are in short supply

Will there be enough flowers, chocolates, gifts and wine to celebrate Valentine’s Day properly in Britain? As February 14 approaches, several distributors fear they will not be able to meet customer demands. The anniversary is the first major test case for the new post-Brexit trade rules that came into effect on January 1st. After photographs of Boris Johnson at lockdown parties, with bottles of wine and prosecco in plain sight, British lovers may have a hard time planning their party. The Customs Service of Maestà di lei (Hmrc) is now requesting a new code for the entry of goods, but many importers say they have not been warned and are in difficulty. “This week we had problems … Hmrc does not share enough information. If we who are big importers have problems, and we prepare the cards weeks in advance, I think the problems are greater for the smaller importers and whoever is counting on supplies last, ”comments Daniel Lambert Wines, one of the largest importers of European wine in the UK. “This Valentine’s Day is the first large-scale event for consumers since the inception of the new rules,” said Richard Bartlett, director of the logistics company KlearNow, according to whom many entrepreneurs have now lost their “safety net”. “Until January 1, the full post-Brexit effect on trade with the EU had been mitigated thanks to the grace period” for the entry into force of the new rules, “now the safety net for importers and exporters is gone. . Our data shows that certain product lines have experienced longer than normal delays since January 1st, suggesting that the new rules are causing significant friction for UK importers, “says Bartlett.