It's the news you've all been waiting for: new stocks of the PlayStation 5 are on their way to Europe, but a number of reports are claiming that these arrivals will be affected by Brexit, and so will be delayed entering the UK.
Following the completion of a permanent trade agreement between the two parties, the UK officially left the European Union on December 31st, 2020. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (also known as the TCA) ensures that trade between the two parties will not contend with tariffs or quotas, as long as the goods themselves either originate in the UK or the EU, though the agreement must be ratified by the EU Parliament in the coming weeks. Yet, these goods will be subject to new regulatory red-tape and border controls, and the two parties did not come to a conclusion regarding standards for products. As a result, goods may be required to possess two different certifications of quality, one for importing the product and one for exporting the product.
There may also be new strains placed on the logistics industry, and hauliers in Northern Ireland have specifically spoken on this concern, keeping their shipments relatively low while the first few weeks of the TCA play out. This, on top of the third lockdown that started on January 5th, has apparently led to the imminent delay of new stocks of the PlayStation 5. Sony had previously promised that it would produce more of the sought-after console and distribute these to retailers around the world in the new year, and reports say that these will arrive in Europe as soon as tomorrow. One source, @Ps5Instant on Twitter, asserts that EE and BT are going to be getting their allowances of PS5s on January 7th.
However, if UK retailers don't receive their provisions of PlayStation 5 stock, we might be waiting until January 12th or January 14th for an update. After that point, we aren't certain when the next shipment would be scheduled for. Last month, lines of nearly 3,000 lorries stretched from Dover into the rest of Kent, waiting to enter France and take their goods to their destination. It is hoped that this situation won't be repeated and that imports can be transferred between the countries without requiring the risk of face-to-face contact.
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All in all, we don't have a whole lot of information right now, aside that delays are likely. We'll do our best to keep you in the loop, and fingers crossed that those who have missed out on the console are able to snap one up among these new arrivals.
Featured Image Credit: Sony