Exporters ?face difficulties adapting to EU-UK goods trade changes

Around half of ?UK exporters ?are facing difficulties in adapting to the changes in the trade of goods following the ratification of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on 1 January 2021.?

That 's according to the first major business survey on Brexit for 2021 by the British Chambers of Commerce.?

Fieldwork for the?survey, which received 1,000 responses, mainly from SMEs,?was carried out between 18 and 31 January 2021.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of respondents?exported goods or services.??

The survey sought to understand the extent to which businesses found it easy or difficult to adapt to changes in trading goods and/or services and moving people in the month since the ratification of the TCA.

Businesses reported the highest proportion of difficulties in adapting to changes in trading goods.

The survey found that:

• 30 per cent of respondents reported ?difficulties adapting to changes to moving or trading goods?in the first month of the?year, while 10 per cent said they had found adapting to the changes easy. 45 per cent said trade in goods was not applicable to their business and 16 per cent said it was too early to say;
• The percentage facing difficulties in adapting to changes in trading goods rose for exporters, where 49 per cent reported issues, as well as manufacturers, where the percentage facing difficulties was more than half (51 per cent);
• 14 per cent of firms said that they faced difficulties in adapting to changes in the trade of services. 10 per cent said they had found adapting to the changes easy. The percentage facing difficulties rose for exporters, where 21 per cent reported issues.

When asked about the specific difficulties businesses were facing, commonly cited concerns included increased administration, costs, delays, and confusion about what rules to follow.

The government has announced a £20m fund to help SMEs with changes to trade rules with the EU.

It means traders can apply for a grant of up to £2,000 to pay for practical support for importing and exporting.

The Government says the fund will help businesses prepare for the implementation of import controls which are due to come into force from April and July.

Practical support includes training and professional advice to ensure firms can continue trading effectively with the EU.

Dan Clarke (pictured), policy manager at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to see that the government has introduced grant support funding to help small businesses adapt to the new trading arrangements with the EU.

“Small businesses do not have the expertise in-house nor the financial reserves to bring in the outside support they need to adjust, particularly given the impact of the pandemic.

As the results from the British Chambers of Commerce survey show, many businesses exporting to the EU have experienced difficulties and there was no phased implementation period for exporters to help them with the new trading arrangements.

With further changes to import controls set to be brought in in April and July, it is vital that this grant funding reaches businesses as quickly as possible so that they are ready for when these new controls are introduced.

The Chamber 's International Business Hub is on hand to support businesses in adapting to the new post-Brexit trading environment and runs accredited international training courses that can help bring businesses up to speed on import and export procedures. ”

Click here to find out more about the SME Brexit Support Fund.

Click here to find out more about how the GBCC International Hub can support businesses trading internationally.