Category: EU

Six months in UK businesses are still battling with the post-Brexit environment and sleep-walking into chaos

Surveys for the FT find companies have been hit hard by new checks and red tape, with almost a third of British companies suffering a decline or loss of business since post-Brexit. The survey by the Institute of Directors found that 17% that previously traded with the EU have stopped — eithe... Read more

Industry press; government to tackle the HGV driver shortage in The UK

Calls to bring in the army to help ease the UK’s worsening driver shortage have been rebuffed by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), who are calling on the Government to tackle the problem, which is affecting the speed and cost of deliveries across the country. The Federation of Wholesale D... Read more

June 2021; Post-Brexit trade update

Dover is seeking a judicial review of a Cabinet Office decision, while the Government offer financial aid to exporters, as food and drink exports to the EU fall by half and critics decry post-Brexit trade deals. TRADE AGREEMENTS The UK has agreed with Australia its first big post-Brexit tr... Read more

Brexit and pandemic challenged road freight supply chain with Europe

The twin impacts of Brexit and the pandemic had a negative effect on road freight in the first quarter of 2021, with freight tonnage and vehicle movements down significantly, marked by lack of capacity, driver shortages and other disruptions. January was the largest month-on-month drop in imports... Read more

UK exports hit by EU and US tariffs

Despite the tariff-free deal agreed with the EU, up to £3.5bn of British exports have already had taxes applied and the US has introduced new tariffs worth $2bn on European goods, including products from the UK. British goods worth billions of pounds, accounting for about 10% of British expor... Read more

Swiss harden position in EU market access talks with the BLOC

Last Wednesday, Switzerland announced its withdrawal from negotiations on closer ties with the EU, after failing to reach agreement on wages and immigration. The move by the Swiss government to withdraw from negotiations on a single encompassing “framework agreement” may result i... Read more

SME eCommerce sellers hit by EU VAT changes – how will this effect trading with the BLOC ?

About 26,000 eCommerce sellers will have to register for VAT for the first time, under the EU’s new “one-stop shop” system and face £180m in additional red tape costs. On 1st July 2021, the European Union is introducing sweeping reforms to the VAT obligations for B2C e-commerce sel... Read more

The outsourcer’s outsourcers

We have been providing outsourcing services since our inception 40 years ago and this critical service has grown over four decades, with the development of our UK and two international business process outsource (BPO) operations. Metro has spent 40 years managing and transforming the outsource... Read more

UK launching regional trade hubs, but Freeports face tariffs

The government is creating four regional trade and investment hubs to boost economic growth across the UK, but post-Brexit trade agreements with 23 different countries include clauses that exclude manufacturers in the Freeport’s from the deals. Whoops-a-daisy Liz Truss! The hubs will be... Read more

Using rules of origin effectively

Rules of origin determine where goods originate from and which are covered in preference agreements. It is not just where goods have been shipped or bought from, with the potential for multiple origins to consider and there can be severe financial penalties for getting it wrong. The origin is ... Read more

Food exporters highlight one of Brexit’s biggest impacts

This stunning article from The Grocer highlights the massive impact that the post-Brexit free trade agreement has had on one of our most vital business sectors. Food exporters have spent a total of 58 years filling out export health certificates so far this year as a result of the new post-Bre... Read more

Many UK exporters continuing to struggle with European trade post Brexit

Despite the UK economy edging 0.4% higher in February, helped by a partial rebound in trade with the EU as exporters learnt to deal with new Brexit border restrictions, many more are having to dramatically change their business model, or have simply stopped exporting to the bloc. In ... Read more