UK exports to European Union drop 40% in January

NorthumberlandBoro said:
Why?
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red tape. plus the main logistics hauliers cut shipments massively through Jan to get their paperwork in order. we are now seeing a quicker deliveries into the EU. but the massive amount of paperwork and extra charges are still there.

cost of freight for us is about 22% higher than it was in 2020

plus EU companies are now paying import charges and VAT on goods so would be naturally looking elsewhere.

bit of a **** show. and when i say bit, i mean a massive **** show
 
The increased cost and red tape will over a longer time frame, force EU companies to look inward for its products.

None of this is going to get better without massive government investment to fundamentally change the way the country operates.

Which is not going to happen.
 
Chris_Boro said:
The increased cost and red tape will over a longer time frame, force EU companies to look inward for its products.

None of this is going to get better without massive government investment to fundamentally change the way the country operates.

Which is not going to happen.
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The government are limited in what they can do as well. We have a systemic change in our trading relationship with the EU. There's no way to row back on it in the immediate future.
 
Import paperwork checks due to be implemented next month and In July are now put back to October and next year too.

Lots of issues still to be resolved.
 
Chris_Boro said:
The increased cost and red tape will over a longer time frame, force EU companies to look inward for its products.

None of this is going to get better without massive government investment to fundamentally change the way the country operates.

Which is not going to happen.
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They're already looking/ have looked and the suppliers are already changing as they have been forced to due to unknowns, paperwork, delays, tax etc. Once suppliers have changed it will take a lot of big, big changes to go back, which isn't going to happen unless we suddenly become cheaper, better and quicker. The longer we take to make the changes, the more suppliers move away from the UK, and our exports drop.

It's effectively impossible for us to do better unless we can do one or all four of the below:
1) Find cheaper suppliers - But from where? EU supplies have increased in cost, our internal resources are limited and other suppliers are further than the EU (so cost more in transport)
2) Find cheaper workers - The "people" that wanted this mess don't like immigrants
3) Our workers work for less - not what they want, but might have to happen if we want growth
4) Businesses start working for a permanent loss, or just exist but not to make money (not going to happen)

Of course, all of the above was pointed out 4 years ago, and every week since.
 
Low_Key said:
red tape. plus the main logistics hauliers cut shipments massively through Jan to get their paperwork in order. we are now seeing a quicker deliveries into the EU. but the massive amount of paperwork and extra charges are still there.

cost of freight for us is about 22% higher than it was in 2020

plus EU companies are now paying import charges and VAT on goods so would be naturally looking elsewhere.

bit of a **** show. and when i say bit, i mean a massive **** show
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'cost of freight for us is about 22% higher than it was in 2020'
That is frightening.
 
NorthumberlandBoro said:
'cost of freight for us is about 22% higher than it was in 2020'
That is frightening.
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it's a nightmare as we don't want to loose business so we are taking the hit on it.

another thing that slowed down Jan exports was covid testing, the port was shut completely for a week or so

the worse part is the EU customers are then having to pay again to import the goods and clear customs. someone somewhere is making a fortune here
 

www.makeuk.org

Make UK is the new name for EEF

We champion UK manufacturing and manufacturers
www.makeuk.org

Brexit: trade survey finds 74% of British firms hit by delays with EU markets​

First published on Thu 11 Mar 2021 00.01 GMT
Two months after the UK left the EU ......research from the manufacturing trade group Make UK [https://www.makeuk.org/] has shown that 74% of firms in a survey of more than 200 leading industrial companies are facing delays with EU imports and exports.
Manufacturers still struggling to cope with crippling delays moving goods in and out of EU – Make UK research
  • Almost three-quarters (74%) of companies have experienced or are experiencing delays in the past 3 months
  • 1 in 3 (28%) are experiencing delays of between 1 to 2 weeks
  • Over half (51%) say this has led to increased costs
  • Over a third (35%) have lost revenue with one in five losing potential business
  • Manufacturers have cited various Government interventions that would help mitigate the impacts – from assistance with export documentation, better trained customs staff and clearer guidance on import/export paperwork
  • The warning comes as pressure grows on the government to resolve difficulties at UK borders amid concern over the impact on the British economy and jobs at a time when businesses are grappling with the Covid recession..............
However, business leaders said trading activity was under severe strain and only likely to worsen as further border checks came into force.
Figures from Germany this week showed that imports from the UK had fallen by more than 56% to €1.6bn (£1.4bn) in January from the same month a year ago amid Brexit disruption. Official UK trade figures are due to be published on Friday.
The EU accounts for almost half of UK imports and exports, while the government’s own analysis suggests that trade deals outside the EU will not make up for the impact of Brexit on the UK economy.
 
Low_Key said:
it's a nightmare as we don't want to loose business so we are taking the hit on it.

another thing that slowed down Jan exports was covid testing, the port was shut completely for a week or so

the worse part is the EU customers are then having to pay again to import the goods and clear customs. someone somewhere is making a fortune here
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If it's import tax, surely it's the EU that's gaining all the extra money. I'm sure the brexiters will be pleased. That's what they wanted I guess.
 
Lefty said:
Yes, but Freeports everybody.
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The ones we could have had from within the EU?

Incidentally I think it's an indictment of the poor mindset of the brexiter when the argument that the current Freeport's are different to the EU ones is that they are easy to evade taxes with. Worrying really
 
I saw this tweet from an EU citizen the other day.

'In march 2021 in Belarus you can fill a truck with anything, pay €180 for TIR/CTC , define destination as UK and will transit EU countries. What is in the truck is not our problem, it is a GB problem, the place without checks, controls border officials.'
 
Lefty said:
I saw this tweet from an EU citizen the other day.

'In march 2021 in Belarus you can fill a truck with anything, pay €180 for TIR/CTC , define destination as UK and will transit EU countries. What is in the truck is not our problem, it is a GB problem, the place without checks, controls border officials.'
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I was missing the horse meat we used to get in our ready to cook lasagne 😛
 
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