Brexit Bulletin: Truck and trace

Follow Us Get the newsletter What's Happening? Nothing can stand in the way of Brexit — not even amphibious life forms. Boris Johnson meant it when he vowed that newts would not be allowed to thwart his government's ambitions to build. As diggers rolled in to start work on a giant Brexit-era truck park south of Ashford, Kent on Thursday, workers on the other side of the 27-acre site were scrambling to carry out a reptile survey. Two things stand out: The scale of the place, which will be used to check paperwork, and the rush in which the work here is being done. A public footpath has been hurriedly closed, and workers on the site are reluctant to tell you what they're doing. Their reticence may be understandable: the facilities are controversial locally, and as Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove told the House of Commons on Thursday, there will be five of them of varying sizes scattered across Kent. A view of the site near Ashford, Kent, due to be turned in to customs center for post-Brexit trade with the EU. Photo: Bloomberg/Edward Evans It's all concrete evidence that Brexit is happening at the end of this year. Government and businesses now have less than six months to get their systems in place. This week, the U.K. government explained in a mammoth 206-page document how the new border will work. In short, companies face substantial costs — as much as £13 billion ($16.3 billion) in customs fees alone, according to my colleague Joe Mayes — as well as disruption to their existing supply chains. Firms won't be able to move trucks near the border without permission, or they could be fined. The system will be overseen by a computer system that won't be tested until November. There will be a mobile app, just like the still-awaited government app to track and trace the coronavirus. It is far from certain the trucks that today whizz down the M20 motorway to Dover will move so freely after Dec. 31. When officials concede there will be teething problems, it's a sure sign of a trouble ahead. Businesses are going to face extra costs and some disruption regardless of whether the U.K. and the European Union agree to a trade deal before the deadline. Talks on that will resume in London next week — and there's scant evidence of a breakthrough so far.  — Edward Evans Beyond Brexit Russian hackers are trying to steal details of Covid-19 vaccine research, the U.K., U.S. and Canada say. Oxford's Sarah Gilbert is months ahead in the vaccine race. Covid conversations with one of America's richest men. The Dutch are embracing the EU bad-guy role Britain has vacated.  Private equity titans are turning to Europe for mega-deals. The pandemic has scrambled our finances. Here's where to invest $10,000 right now. Want to keep up with Brexit? You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It's live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too.  Share the Brexit Bulletin:  Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here.  For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition. For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.   Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Brexit Bulletin newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022