Freight Lobby Urges UK-France Talks To Ease Port Queues

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2022 ) :A leading UK freight lobby group has urged the British and French governments to hold talks to ease miles-long backups at Channel ports that have been blamed on Brexit.

Trucks have faced queues of up to six miles (10 kilometres) this month on the approach to Dover -- Europe's busiest port for roll-on, roll-off freight -- with tailbacks also reported in northern France.

A number of factors have been blamed, including the UK government implementing further customs controls at the start of January, a year after the country quit the European Union's single market and customs union.

Trucks now take longer to pass through Channel ports as their paperwork is verified.

"We're urging both the French and UK governments to have constructive dialogue to ease the situation," a spokesperson for Logistics UK, which represents an array of road, rail, sea and air operators, said on Monday.

"How much friction we will see in the system long term remains to be seen."The spokesperson added talks were "doubly important" because Britain is planning to implement new sanitary checks and passport control systems later this year, "which will undoubtedly add friction to the border transit and cause delays".

Britain and the EU have been holding negotiations over post-Brexit issues, but they have been primarily focused on the complex situation in Northern Ireland.