{"id":430248,"date":"2026-02-17T10:34:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/430248\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:34:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:34:06","slug":"uk-shelves-110m-frictionless-post-brexit-trade-border-project-international-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/430248\/","title":{"rendered":"UK shelves \u00a3110m frictionless post-Brexit trade border project | International trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK government has shelved a project to simplify trade border processes post-Brexit after spending \u00a3110m on a contract with Deloitte and IBM for it, according to reports.<\/p>\n

The last Conservative government promised in 2020 to create the \u201cworld\u2019s most effective border\u201d by 2025 as part of its plan for a new trade system after Britain left the EU.<\/p>\n

The government hoped a \u201csingle trade window\u201d (STW) would simplify border processes by creating a single digital platform in which importers and exporters could upload all documentation linked to goods before they are transported. However, the STW project was paused in 2024<\/a> amid concerns over costs.<\/p>\n

Government responses to freedom of information requests submitted by the thinktank TaxWatch, seen by the Financial Times, now suggest no money has been spent on the project since January last year, with the Treasury writing that the programme had been \u201cbrought to an early closure\u201d.<\/p>\n

A series of delays have hindered post-Brexit border arrangements. The National Audit Office estimated that the government spent at least \u00a34.7bn on post-Brexit border controls in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The TaxWatch director, Mike Lewis, told the FT: \u201cFor all intents and purposes the single trade window has been cancelled without HMRC or Deloitte and IBM having delivered anything after spending over \u00a3110m on it. But neither HMRC nor ministers appear to wish to admit this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government said while the \u201cdelivery\u201d of the STW had been paused for the 2025-26 financial year, \u201cpolicy development\u201d continued. There is still, however, no definitive timeframe for its implementation.<\/p>\n

While the STW was promised by the former Conservative government, Keir Starmer\u2019s Labour government had also promised to deliver the project. A trade strategy policy document published last year said \u201cit remains the government\u2019s intention to deliver a single trade window\u201d, and that it was \u201ccommitted to minimising administrative burdens and frictions experienced by businesses trading internationally\u201d.<\/p>\n

A government spokesperson said: \u201cWe remain committed to delivering a single trade window, recognising its potential benefits to trade, as set out in the trade strategy published in June last year. Policy development is ongoing and focused on designing a service that delivers genuine value to businesses and strengthens the UK\u2019s border system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The news comes almost a decade after the Brexit vote in the 2016 referendum. Under the agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson\u2019s government, the UK has tariff-free trade with the EU. However, access is limited by rules and restrictions, and is still far away<\/a> from the UK\u2019s previous membership of the single market and customs union.<\/p>\n

Goods exports have been particularly affected, with volumes falling dramatically after the end of the Brexit transition period in January 2021. In 2024, goods exports from the UK to the EU were 18% below their 2019 level in real terms.<\/p>\n

Deloitte declined to comment. IBM was approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK government has shelved a project to simplify trade border processes post-Brexit after spending \u00a3110m on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-430248","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-gb","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-greatbritain","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}