The trading landscape that is emerging in the wake of the Brexit transition period is more than just a bureaucratic nightmare and it certainly is not temporary.
It is estimated that almost all of Scotland’s exporting manufacturing businesses have been impacted by the delays at European borders, the reduction in haulage activity, and the domino effect a system at breaking point has on the chain of commerce.
The £1 million a day loss to Scottish seafood producers, the rotten meat ending up in landfill, and the customs gridlock have been documented in daily updates from individuals, often in the depths of despair, and industry representatives across the food and drink sectors.
The cost to manufacturing in Scotland is now emerging and the scale is concerning.
Paul Sheerin, chief executive of industry body Scottish Engineering, revealed this week that administration costs can be ten times before. He said research suggests “almost every exporter in the manufacturing and engineering space is suffering detriment".
Half have been hit by the availability of logistics and half are facing increased costs of haulage.
The light darts from one dark corner to another, uncovering the impact on financial markets. Business Editor Ian McConnell writes in his Called to Account column: “It is less than two months since the end of the transition period, and already Amsterdam has overtaken London as Europe’s largest share trading centre."
READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Race against time as Dominic Raab gazes out to horizon
Martin Reid, the Scotland and Northern Ireland director for the Road Haulage Association, calls out Westminster’s shoulder shruggers: "There's a lack of qualified customs agents, something that the Government deny. But we have seen that is definitely the case.” It may be that after UK Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove receives Scottish Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop's letter calling for financial backing for firms in Scotland to help them cut through the red-tape, some acceptance of the situation will be required.
The gamble that grant support really is emerged as the co-owner of the Sub Club Mike Grieve told Deputy Business Editor Scott Wright: “We ended up, like others, in the invidious position of being offered some funding, in our case £40,000, from the grassroots music fund, but if we accepted that we could not apply for the COVR fund, which had a cap of £150,000. So we had to decide whether to stick or twist.”
The fossil fuel multinationals insist they are part of the solution in the net zero push. Business Correspondent Mark Williamson uncovered a curiosity: “While one oil giant had difficulty convincing campaigners it was serious about climate change last week, some appeared concerned that another major might be showing too much enthusiasm for the renewables business.”
The question of when the working world will return to the office is under the spotlight in Business Correspondent Kristy Dorsey’s employment focus, where she points to: “The odds on returning to the workplace sooner rather than later grew substantially longer between December and January.”
Meanwhile on Mars, the Perseverance Rover, with Scottish-made cable on board, has landed safely in search of evidence of life. But what else? Among those celebrating at WL Gore in Dundee this week will be space chief Jeff Fyfe, who told me in a recent interview: "We need to adapt to the ever-changing world we live in ... that might mean taking up residence somewhere else."
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