London – At first glance, the news may seem to fall into the category of jokes about flying elephants: but the announcement that the Dublin government has begun loading cows on planes to get them to the continent faster is not April Fool’s. Instead, it is a testament to how difficult trade through the Channel and the Irish Sea has become.

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Of our correspondent Antonello Guerrero

January 21, 2021

The decision by the Irish authorities to airlift about 200,000 cattle, often just two weeks old, which are destined to be exported to the European continent each year, is the result of an EU law. More than eight hours journey.

Although it costs twice as much as traditional sea transport, it is clearly faster than a jet and is considered respectable for the time it takes to establish EU rules. But animal welfare organizations are protesting against the conditions under which cows are forced into this way: closed in wooden cages and subjected to easily conceivable pressure. “These are nightmare trips, with no food or water available,” said a spokesman for Ethical Farming Al. The guard In London, “flying cows is a terrible idea”.

As Irish cows fly from one member state to another in the Union to continue the issue, imports and exports of all other products between the EU and the country have been declining significantly since December 31 last year. The figures were released this morning Financial Times Notably: Italy reported a 38 per cent decline in exports to the UK in February, as well as an even more dramatic decline, with 70 per cent of British imports into our country in the previous month.

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Of Enrico Francis

31 December 2020

The situation is similar in other major European countries: German exports to Great Britain fell by 30 per cent and French exports by 13 per cent in January. “Trade with London,” says a Paris communicator, “Brexit was unsettled.”

This is in line with the agreements reached last year between the European Union and the UK to waive the tariff on goods in relations between the two parties. Although not subject to customs increases, products still have to go through more restrictions, more sophisticated bureaucracy and some additional costs, complicating transportation, even at this early stage the traffic average has dropped by a third. From Europe to the UK and from the UK to Europe.

Over time, the general expectation is that new technological difficulties will be overcome and trade will return to its previous level, saving at least one sector of the economy from the adverse effects of Brexit. At the same time, many companies suffer immediate damage. As the epidemic is not enough, between the flying cows and the decline in exports, 2021 is not a good start for trade in Europe.