Preparing for hard Brexit

Preparing for hard Brexit

Norwegian exporters should be prepared for a hard Brexit and changes in British retail trade. That was the main message of the UK-Norwegian Seafood Summit in London this week. March 29 is fast approaching: The day the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, but the British have not yet reached an agreement. The danger of a "worst case scenario" is coming closer.

- It can be New rules can coming overnight, and the industry must have their plans ready for a possible "hard Brexit", say, Hans Frode Kielland Asmyhr, the Norwegian Seafood Council's  in the UK. 

The UK-Norwegian Seafood Summit is organized once a year, and is an important meeting place for British and Norwegian seafood industry. This year, the number of record highs with 170 participants was probably due to the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

The Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Harald T. Nesvik was present at the conference and could assure that hard work is being done on both sides to ensure good agreements, but so far nothing has been clarified.

-We know little about what will happen, but we know quite a bit about the consequences if the outcome becomes a "hard Brexit", says Silje Gjerp Solstad, who is an analyst at market access in The Norwegian Seafood council.