THE Welsh Government has called on the UK and Irish governments to work with it to resolve the "disproportionate impacts" of Brexit on ports in Wales.

This week Welsh ministers said they "cannot sit idly by" as the livelihoods of those connected to ports in Holyhead and Pembrokeshire – which support over 800 jobs – are placed under threat, and this week the Government annopunced a five-point plan to support logistics between Wales and Ireland.

Priorities set out, include the streamlining of border processes, revising services that encourager transit between Wales and Northern Ireland, and restoring traders’ confidence in the UK ‘land bridge’.

Ireland is Wales’ fifth largest export market, accounting for roughly 11 per cent of goods exported, while imports are roughly 1.3 per cent

According to Department for Transport data, the flow of freight traffic using routes between Wales and Ireland remains far lower than it was before the end of the post-Brexit transition period, with hauliers instead favouring direct routes between Ireland and the EU, an through Northern Ireland to mainland UK.

Volumes at Holyhead port are around half of what they were compared to last year, while the situation is almost as bad further south, with throughput at Fishguard and Pembroke dock down by around 40 per cent.

Meanwhile, volumes using direct services between Ireland and the EU have increased by a staggering 242 per cent, with those on the GB-NI routes also increasing by 5 per cent compared to 2020, despite all other routes in the UK having seen volumes decline.

According to figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office, imports from mainland Britain in January this year were down 65 per cent compared to last year, while exports also fell by 14 per cent.

Whilst the UK Government has attributed much of this downturn to post-Brexit "teething problems" Wales' Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken Skates, said that there were “core issues” with the new processes that made crossing the border “more costly, time-consuming and higher risk”.

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Before the end of the transition period, traders may have utilised the UK ‘land bridge’ to transport freight as quickly as possible between the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU.

However, with the UK now sits outside of the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union, and the new rules for importers and exporters have led to increased checks and extra costs, leading to disruption and delays.

As a result, hauliers are bypassing Welsh ports and making longer and costlier journeys to avoid this extra red tape.

In a statement, Mr Skates said: “Whilst this can be partially attributed to Covid-19 impacts, traders, hauliers and the ports have reported that it is now more costly, time-consuming and higher risk to navigate the new processes required to cross the border.

“These are not simply teething problems, but core issues with the new rules and processes that have been established since.

“Many of these factors are an inevitable consequence of the trade deal sought by the UK Government, over which the Welsh Government has little control.

“However, we recognise the essential contribution that our ferry ports and services make to the economic prosperity of Wales and the wider UK, and cannot sit idly by whilst the livelihood of all those connected to the ports are placed under threat.”

Meanwhile, recommendations to improve the viability of transit between Wales and Northern Ireland include a revision of the UK’s Trader Support Service (TSS), which is currently only able to support journeys from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland via Ireland, but not the reciprocal journey.

Allowing the service access to the necessary systems for both directions of transit would help to make the process "more user friendly", the report says.

Rebuilding confidence in the UK land bridge is another key priority, with the route described as the "faster, cheapest and most efficient’ for trade between Ireland and the EU".

Data suggests Irish importers and exporters are reverting to using the land bridge, but at a glacial rate, with this hesitancy continually placing revenue pressure on ports.

As a result, the report calls on the UK and Irish governments to work together to develop a resource that instructs traders specifically what will be required in order to use the land bridge – including how to interact with each nation’s system.

Outlining the Welsh Government’s next steps, the report read: “We will continue to make the case for further facilitation and support resources to be targeted towards Wales-Ireland logistics, in recognition of the critical role flows associated with Welsh ferry ports have in supporting the economies of Wales, Ireland and the UK.

“In the immediate term, Welsh Government will use this plan and the actions identified as the basis of further activity and direct engagement with the UK and Irish Governments."

This article originally appeared on the Argus' sister site The National.