Half British exporters are facing difficulties adapting to changes resulting from the post-Brexit trading agreement between the EU and UK, according to a British Chambers of Commerce survey.
Just under a third of respondents overall (30%) reported difficulties adapting to changes to moving or trading goods in the first month of this year. But among exporters, 49% reported encountering problems, rising to 51% among manufacturers.
Asked about specific difficulties businesses were facing, commonly cited concerns included increased administration, costs, delays, and confusion about what rules to follow.
BCC called on the government (with EU partners where necessary) to work with it to identify the most significant blockages and publish plans for resolving them. It also called for the creation of tax credits allowing firms to offset spending incurred in adapting to the new UK-EU requirements against their tax bill; for a postponement of the imposition of additional border checks due to be introduced in April and July; and for the government to work with EU partners to ease unhelpful burdens, including on aspects of Rules of Origin and VAT.
BCC director-general Adam Marshall said: “Trading businesses – and the UK’s chances at a strong economic recovery – are being hit hard by changes at the border. The late agreement of the trade deal left businesses in the dark right until the last minute, so it’s unsurprising to see that many businesses are now experiencing practical difficulties. For some firms these concerns go well beyond mere ‘teething problems’. It should not be the case that companies simply have to give up on selling their goods and services into the EU.” He urged ministers to do “everything they can to fix the problems that are within the UK’s control”, and work more closely with EU counterparts “to solve the knotty issues that are stifling trade in both directions”.
Fieldwork for the survey was carried out between 18 and 31 January 2021. It received 1,000 responses, mainly from SMEs. 47% of respondents exported goods or services.