Business groups accuse prime minister of ‘checking boxes’ in Brexit call

Business groups have described a 22-minute call with Prime Minister and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove as “terrible”, “disappointing” and “more of a lecture”.

While welcoming the fact that the government would seek to establish an emergency task force to help businesses prepare for the end of the Brexit transition period, one attendee said that it “felt like an exercise in checking boxes, As far as you can tell, yes, we “have talked to companies.”

Another aide told the BBC that while the prime minister and Michael Gove did not share information on the current state of trade talks with the EU, it appeared that Gove was still hopeful that a deal was possible.

The prime minister, who dropped the call after 15 minutes, was reported to have said that Covid had created “too much apathy” in the business community and that they “needed to prepare.”

Small business groups lobbied for transitional vouchers for small merchants to pay for their preparation, which Michael Gove promised to take on with the Treasury.

While a deal can still be reached with the EU, many of the new processes facing UK companies will require a deal or no deal, and the government has made this clear in recent months.

Michael Gove ended the call by describing it as “a bit like moving house, a bit of an interruption until you get used to a bigger and better house.”

Business groups were largely and significantly less optimistic.

Last week, Cabinet Office Minister Lord Agnew criticized companies for taking a “head in the sand” approach when preparing for post-Brexit trade.

He said traders “really need to get involved in a more energetic way” to be prepared for the end of the transition period on December 31.

It follows claims that thousands of UK companies may need to establish an EU presence if they want to export goods to European markets, according to business consultants Blick Rothenberg.

Both EU and UK law will require companies to “have a door to knock on” if there is any dispute over payment and compliance with customs changes that will treat the UK as if it were any other country outside. from the EU after January 1.

On Friday, Downing Street said talks between the UK and the EU on a post-Brexit trade deal were “over”, but some believe the two sides can still find common ground.