Brexit discussion thread XIV (Please read OP before posting)

Sam Russell · 21-07-2022 1:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119366018#Comment_119366018

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119367352#Comment_119367352

Well, I have no real idea, but I smell a rat.

Why put the label on at all? Surely, just ship it to NI and then on to the rest of the EU.

How much of this is going on? Plenty judging by the trade figures.

Does it matter? Well, yes if it is part of a) fraud or b) VAT dodging or c) SPS regulation avoiding.

It does need investigation, and suggests heightened market surveillance needed.

breezy1985 · 21-07-2022 1:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119368038#Comment_119368038

But you are not even sure of what you saw. Yet you are sure it's a big problem

Sam Russell · 21-07-2022 1:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119368065#Comment_119368065

Well, no.

1) I am seeing the trade figures that show an increase in the flow of goods from GB to NI together with a reduction in the flow of goods from GB to Ireland. There is also a large increase in the flow of goods from NI to Ireland. That would suggest that some (or a lot) of goods are being diverted from GB to NI to Ireland instead of direct.

2) I am seeing goods that are normally shown as Origin: UK now showing Origin: NI UK. Are they really NI produced or just a relabel job?

3) I noticed a label I have never noticed on anything before - showing goods imported into NI from GB.

4) It is well publicised that there is little to no inspection of goods going between NI and GB in either direction.

I think that is a bit more than 'I am not even sure what I saw' - now is it?

serfboard · 21-07-2022 1:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119367352#Comment_119367352

I would have thought (wrongly maybe) that, after the NIP, the likes of M&S would have very little food on the shelves in their supermarkets here. The fact that that isn't the case makes me wonder about how much checking is being done.

fly_agaric · 21-07-2022 2:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119368144#Comment_119368144

I recall M&S has commented on this in UK House of Lords saying that they are supplying Irish & NI shops via a different distribution route than before and also had to reduce variety of products they can sell in Ireland (probably to save form filling & customs they have to do?).

Just googled this article for what was said:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/marks-and-spencer-brexit-northern-ireland-ireland-republic-of-ireland-b999477.html

In order to facilitate this we had to create a new export centre in Motherwell. All of our product for export to Northern Ireland and the Republic is now shipped into Motherwell; previously it was in our regular depots.

At Motherwell, those vehicles are separated and despatched to Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Mr Berendji added: “We have also seen an availability impact, less so in Northern Ireland but still there. But in our Republic of Ireland stores there are about 600 lines out of around 7,000 that we are not able to export, which we need to find a different solution for.

“Therefore, the net impact for our customer has been that we have seen worse availability in both countries, although markedly worse in the Republic of Ireland, and higher waste levels for us.

....

We have looked at other options and we have built and recruited a local sourcing team for the island of Ireland and there are around 450 products we are now sourcing locally, including short shelf-life products like sandwiches.

Haven't been in an M&S in a long time. I thought (wrongly as well) Brexit would finish them here. Maybe a reduction in number of products combined with getting more of their fresh/perishable stuff locally (from Ireland) has made it manageable. I think their customers were always willing to pay a fair bit extra for their food anyway. If you are choosing to do majority of grocery shopping there, you are not very price sensitive...!.

Sam Russell · 21-07-2022 3:22pm

M&S are a British store who revels in their British Identity.

So where would a very British store build its distribution centre for the island of Ireland? Why Motherwell in Scotland of course.

I think that says it all.

Just for any putative shoppers planning to use M&S as a store - the M&S prices in Ireland are some 25% higher than the UK prices. It is easier to check - just look up M&S UK website and the M&S Irish website for the same product. Remember to convert the GB£ to € and include the 23% VAT here as opposed to the 20% UK rate. The choice of goods in Ireland is more limited as well.

breezy1985 · 21-07-2022 3:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119368113#Comment_119368113

Is this the type of smuggling that is going on, or is it all legitimate, or is something else going on?

Well it sounded like you were asking as you didn't know. Sounds now like you were asking a question you were gonna tell us all the answers to anyway.

Sam Russell · 21-07-2022 3:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119368768#Comment_119368768

Again no.

I was explaining a situation I did not understand. You came back suggesting I did not know what I was seeing, which I took to mean I did not see anything.

What I wanted to know was whether others had noticed the same, and did they have an explanation, or did they actually know the rules/background that would explain what I thought was going on. Or conversely show that all was legitimate and all rules were being followed.

I said I smelled a rat. There are little to no inspections going on in Larne and Belfast, and there is a lot more traffic.

Snickers Man · 21-07-2022 5:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119349425#Comment_119349425

Easily proved.

The formula for converting Celcius to Farenheit is:

C=F*9/5 + 32

If F=C C=C*9/5 + 32

5C=9C + 160

9C-5C=-160

4C=-160

C=F=-40

Seth Brundle · 22-07-2022 10:40am

A critical incident has been declared in the port of Dover due to traffic chaos which the british appear to be blaming on the French...

https://twitter.com/Haggis_UK/status/1550380409455779842

ambro25 · 22-07-2022 10:42am

Chronicle of a death foretold - episode #259:

https://twitter.com/theipaper/status/1550378170561564673?s=20&t=_udC6VXwOtexRSS4bWd9SA

Volume of Brit holidaymakers travelling through Dover, now all needing their passports date-stamped on arrival in France, divided by throughput capacity of French immigration officers in Calais = unsolvable bottleneck.

breezy1985 · 22-07-2022 11:05am

I can't help but find all of this hilarious.

Who would have thought extra borders would mean extra passport checks.

pixelburp · 22-07-2022 11:12am

Signs that the UK is still a long way off from the kind of self-analysis and retrospection needed to rethink its European status. A crisis of their own making and of course, they blame the French.

yagan · 22-07-2022 11:22am

Any remaining Irish hauliers that stuck with the British land bridge when traffic was lighter during the pandemic will have to finally concede that the new normal isn't sustainable.

Seth Brundle · 22-07-2022 11:25am

Another Project Fear bubble bursts as the UK government confirm that there is a divorce bill and the total has now increased to about €50billion!

https://twitter.com/faisalislam/status/1550156669769900033

Hotblack Desiato · 22-07-2022 11:33am

I fail to see why the French taxpayer should be expected to pay for additional immigration or customs officers just to make things easier for Brexiters.

breezy1985 · 22-07-2022 11:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371786#Comment_119371786

Because the British are the master race who should by the will of god get special treatment.

pixelburp · 22-07-2022 11:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371786#Comment_119371786

Because Britain is Best. And France sucks. /s

This is the accumulation of Britain post-colonial introspection - or rather the lack thereof. The continued presumption the rest of the world is simply gagging for UK patronage, a stubborn demographic that can't countenance being treated as anything except VIP. Think on the cliché of the British tourist, however false or exaggerated it may be; the dogged refusal to speak the local language, the insistence on special treatment and so on.

We saw this regularly with the retirees living the life in Spain, Brexit suddenly upending their cosy, insular life there; finding themselves in legal trouble having never bothered entangling themselves in local requirements.

Hotblack Desiato · 22-07-2022 12:19pm

Wonder how many UK ~~immigrants~~, oops, I mean "ex-pats" living in the EU voted for Brexit...!

Grassey · 22-07-2022 12:54pm

https://www.thejournal.ie/eu-legal-action-uk-protocol-5823526-Jul2022/

Kicking up a notch again.

pixelburp · 22-07-2022 12:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119372062#Comment_119372062

I don't have the articles or stats, but I do recall interviews with ex-pats in Spain who voted for Brexit, suddenly and vocally appalled the local authorities were treating them like 3rd Country nobodies. Lots of "they can't do that, we've lived here 30 years!" without any apparent self-awareness they were turkeys who voted for this particular Christmas

22-07-2022 1:08pm

I'm an expat in Asia, not an immigrant. Basically, if you don't have the right to stop working and die in a country, you are an expat, so any Brits in Spain who had to leave, were indeed expats. The others who could stay without work permits were immigrants. Any British people who now get work visas for the EU, which are required for them to stay there, are expats unless they get citizenship and become immigrants.

This is the modern usage of the term worldwide. The Koreans, Nigerians, Filipinos etc. I know also call themselves expats because if we don't work in this country, we must leave.

breezy1985 · 22-07-2022 1:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119372062#Comment_119372062

The only official stat I know of is Gibraltar was 95% remain.

There were certainly anti EU British in Spain and the likes. I know one I Cyprus who is also a fair bit racist with no irony whatsoever.

Ran into a fair amount of anti EU racist Europeans in England too. Usually former eastern bloc.

FraserburghFreddie · 22-07-2022 6:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371663#Comment_119371663

Yes,just as the farce at the recent champions league final which was the fault of the British fans according to the French which has been debunked resulting in an embarrassing admission of "over zealous"policing and downright lies by the French.

CJhaughey · 22-07-2022 6:37pm

The question that needs to be asked is what has changed that has precipitated the current state of affairs in Dover?

The current situation of the Tories complaining about the French controlling their own borders whilst simultaneously crowing about controlling the UK’s own borders is indicative of a mindset that has not changed.

Leroy42 · 22-07-2022 6:45pm

Exactly. I have no idea what happened, whether it was some issue in the tunnel as the French claim or not enough resources as the Port claims.

But regardless, the underlying issue is that Brexit is the cause of the potential problems. The need for more resources, and thus the chance of something going wrong, is 100% at the door of Brexit.

It will be hidden behind the 'fight' over who messed up, but apart from the headlines that won't solve anything. Taking back control also means Franch taking back control and that means extra waiting times and extra hassle every time they travel.

breezy1985 · 22-07-2022 6:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119373992#Comment_119373992

Ya that's the same as major international treaties alright.

Good lad.

pixelburp · 22-07-2022 7:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119373992#Comment_119373992

What has that got to do with Brexit? The Dover problems have been caused by ejecting oneself form the EU and refusing to coalesce along a frictionless path for continuance of trade and traffic. Britian became a third country, this is then end result. Same effect seen in airports across the EU, albeit without the arresting imagery of traffic ground to a halt.

There's a noted problem at all ports of entry at the moment, this has been seen everywhere. Brexit has made a bad problem much worse.

FraserburghFreddie · 22-07-2022 7:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119374076#Comment_119374076

Pointing out that the French are quick to try to blame others for their own shortcomings is relevant imo but feel free to lay all the blame at the feet of the British if it supports your theories.

breezy1985 · 22-07-2022 7:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119374126#Comment_119374126

I don't blame the English fans at all but it's an absolutely childish bit of whataboutery.

Brexit discussion thread XIV (Please read OP before posting)

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