On Tuesday 11 September 2018, the Port of Rotterdam Authority organised a Brexit press trip in collaboration with Dutch Customs, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) and the Stena Line shipping company.
The event enjoyed huge interest from its intended audience. Dozens of media teams from the Netherlands and abroad attended.
The direct occasion for organising this press trip was that all four aforementioned organisations are receiving a growing number of requests for information from the media about Brexit. They are asked to explain which consequences the United Kingdom’s impending withdrawal from the European Union per 29 March 2019 will have on the port economy.
Brexit experts from the Port Authority, Dutch Customs, NVWA and Stena Line brought the participating journalists up to date on which changes can be expected to occur in the logistics chain when the UK gains ‘third country’ status as of 30 March 2019.
“It’s 199 days and counting until Brexit,” notes Mark Dijk, the Port of Rotterdam Authority’s External Affairs Manager. “Nevertheless, only a very small share of the businesses currently trading with the UK have so far made serious preparations for the change. This is hardly responsible, because there’s quite a lot at stake – and definitely for the Netherlands, since the UK is one of our most important trading partners. We urgently call on both the private sector and government – at the national and European level – to make serious preparation for Brexit. The clock is ticking.”
