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Author Topic: Someone with knowledge of exporting stuff post-Brexit?  (Read 1925 times)

Worf

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Re: Someone with knowledge of exporting stuff post-Brexit?
« Reply #15 on: September 25, 2021, 11:30:20 PM »

Over many years, I have managed to successfully buy stuff from all over the world from places other than Europe. Where there was a will for someone overseas to want to sell me something, they usually succeeded.

I also used to work for a firm that managed to export consumer electrical goods  for private customers to many foreign countries. Things usually went smoothly because we were geared up to do it. We haven't needed to do that with Europe for a number of years, but businesses here have had plenty of time to prepare for what was coming. If UK businesses haven't done that, they only have themselves to blame. I have successfully bought stuff from firms in Europe post Brexit, with no delays and only one layer of VAT applied.

I suppose the only other explanation for the problem is certain countries are just being *&%^$ minded  ???
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agg221

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Re: Someone with knowledge of exporting stuff post-Brexit?
« Reply #16 on: September 26, 2021, 07:40:18 PM »

Over many years, I have managed to successfully buy stuff from all over the world from places other than Europe. Where there was a will for someone overseas to want to sell me something, they usually succeeded.

I also used to work for a firm that managed to export consumer electrical goods  for private customers to many foreign countries. Things usually went smoothly because we were geared up to do it. We haven't needed to do that with Europe for a number of years, but businesses here have had plenty of time to prepare for what was coming. If UK businesses haven't done that, they only have themselves to blame. I have successfully bought stuff from firms in Europe post Brexit, with no delays and only one layer of VAT applied.

I suppose the only other explanation for the problem is certain countries are just being *&%^$ minded  ???

I represent my employer at various CBI forums, which gave me some insight into this problem as business saw it.

The main issue appeared to be the very late notice on what exactly would be required in the way of paperwork for export to Europe. It was finally agreed on the 24th December 2020, coming into effect on the 1st January, so what with that being Christmas, business did not have time to digest it before it came into effect. For businesses which had a long track record of exporting globally it was not so much of an issue, but for businesses which dealt with the UK and mainland Europe it was impossible to plan for the paperwork before someone told them what it was going to look like. This came in the midst of furlough and a new round of lockdown, so non-essential business was closed again and people were not available to work out how to handle the paperwork. For retail, there was no point bringing people in to work out how to sort this out until there was income coming in from trading, so April at the earliest. There was then all the chaos of resolving business debt from loans and rent vs. a period of no income and trying to re-establish viability, followed by the pingemic and then summer holidays. It is only now that business is beginning to get its head above water again and think about such things. If we go into another round of lockdowns it will all stop again.

The other practical point is that the exercise of learning how to sort out the paperwork takes time, which adds cost. The each time you do it it adds cost. That's fine if you have a reasonable volume of international trade, but if it is only a small volume it is often not worth the cost financially of working out how to do it. It is more cost-effective to just contract the business by that percentage.

Alec
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