Ian Baxter is chairman and founder of Baxter Freight, a UK logistics provider which employs almost 60 staff and offers daily services covering all the main commercial centres in continental Europe and the Nordic region. The multimodal logistics provider has become the freight solution for many of the UK’s SMEs shipping goods into Europe and beyond with its unique customer-focused approach.
Here, Ian offers his views on the outcomes of the Government’s announcement on the progression of a Brexit deal:
“The agreement between HMG and the EU is very welcome news for British businesses. Having agreed the principles for preserving citizens’ rights for the date that the U.K. leaves the EU, set out the principles for a financial settlement and provided reassurance that the U.K. will remain aligned to the relevant rules of the Single Market and Customs Union – until there is an arrangement which prevents a hard border in Ireland – we can now move to phase two of the talks.
“These talks on the new relationship between the U.K. and EU are urgent as businesses need clarity and certainty on the new realities as soon as possible. But I am hugely reassured that the prospect for a no deal exit or hard Brexit has receded massively. It seems much more likely that we will find a pragmatic solution which protects the interests of businesses and citizens in the U.K. and those in Europe.”