As the UK marks ten years since the Brexit referendum, the British International Freight Association (BIFA) is highlighting the vital role played by its members in helping businesses adapt to the biggest change in UK trading conditions for a generation.
Brexit fundamentally changed the way goods move between the UK and the European Union. What had previously been largely frictionless trade became a far more complex process involving customs declarations, rules-of-origin paperwork, VAT and duty procedures, safety and security requirements, and, for many sectors, sanitary and phytosanitary controls.
For traders unfamiliar with these new obligations, the challenges were significant. BIFA members stepped up to provide the expertise, systems and support needed to keep supply chains moving and minimise disruption.
Over the past decade, freight forwarders have expanded customs brokerage operations, developed specialist post-Brexit logistics services, and invested heavily in technology and staff training. They have guided importers and exporters through continually evolving UK and EU regulations, helping businesses navigate new compliance requirements while reducing the risk of costly delays and border issues.
The transition was not without difficulties. Freight forwarders, and the traders they serve, have faced increased paperwork, more inspections, higher compliance risks and rising operating costs. Groupage services have been particularly affected, with consolidated shipments requiring multiple customs entries and checks. Developing effective systems, especially at non-inventory-linked ports such as Dover, demonstrated the scale of the challenge involved in creating and implementing new processes at speed.
The impact of Brexit has varied across sectors. Food, agricultural and live animal movements have faced some of the greatest hurdles as a result of enhanced biosecurity and sanitary controls. Northern Ireland has emerged as one of the most complex trading frontiers in Europe, requiring highly specialised expertise. Meanwhile, traders and logistics providers have had to adapt continually to changing guidance, new border processes and additional measures such as the EU’s /Exit System and evolving environmental regulations.
While studies suggest UK–EU trade remains around 10–20 per cent below the level it might have reached without Brexit, the freight forwarding sector has transformed in response. UK-EU Customs and compliance services have become a core capability, while digitalisation has accelerated across the industry.
“Brexit made UK–EU trade harder, more costly and more administratively demanding,” said Steve Parker, BIFA’s director general. “But BIFA members helped make it manageable. Over the last ten years they have become indispensable partners to importers and exporters, providing the expertise, resilience and innovation needed to keep goods moving in a far more complex trading environment.”
Ten years on, the additional friction introduced by Brexit remains a defining feature of cross-Channel trade. The efforts of BIFA members have helped UK businesses to adapt and continue trading.
Parker concludes: “For freight forwarders, Brexit has been less a story of collapse than of transformation. Like never before, it has demonstrated the strategic importance of freight forwarders’ work in the supply chains that underpin international visible trade.
