If your company is located in the EU, and you sell goods to clients in the UK, this blog is meant for you.
If your company is located in the UK, and you sell goods to clients in the EU-27 countries, this blog is meant for you too.
Brexit is around the corner.
In case of a “Hard Brexit”, Customs formalities will be required for trade between the UK and the 27 EU Member States, and import duties will (may) be introduced. Having Customs formalities by itself is a trade barrier, as it requires extra investment (i.e. higher costs) and time (and potential delays at the borders). Introducing import duties would be an extra trade barrier, as it will increase the costs of imported goods even further.
As EU goods become more expensive in the UK (and vice versa), UK companies that have long had EU supplier may decide to seek for other suppliers, because EU goods would become more expensive (and hence, why not import the same goods from other countries?). Similarly, EU companies that have long had UK suppliers may decide to do the same. And hence companies in the UK and in the EU-27 countries may lose clients.
This fear is not hypothetical. Statistics of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics show that Dutch exports to the UK declined with 1% (170 million Euro) in 2018, compared to growth of 7% in 2016. German exports to the UK shrunk 7,8% between 2015 and 2018. EU exporters are losing business in the UK.
Share your experiences with your community!
- Are you an exporter in the EU-27 countries or in the UK? Do you already feel a decline in your business in this trade lane?
- Are you actively searching for new clients, to replace business that was lost or may be lost upon a hard Brexit?
- Are you actively searching for new suppliers, to avoid Customs formalities and import duties?
- Will you continue to buy products from the other region (EU-27 / UK) even if Customs formalities and import duties are introduced? What are your considerations?
- How does Brexit impact your supply chains?
- How does Brexit impact your focus markets, in your sales efforts?
Share your experiences via this LinkedIn article.
Suggested reading: New export opportunities, at times of Brexit, Trade War and political uncertainty
