Retailers in the UK have warned the government that supply chains and trade flows are being affected by new post-transition customs and trade requirements. M&S was one of the first retailers to take action by temporarily suspending sales of hundreds of items in Northern Ireland stores as it fears food would be blocked due to
After years of political wrangling and to-the-wire negotiations, Brexit for real has finally happened. For many in the general public, that’s it. Brexit is done. But for UK businesses returning to work from a well-earned festive break, the real work is yet to begin. The end of the transition period and arrival into a new
At almost the last minute, the trade deal between the EU and UK has been agreed by the negotiators. It just now needs ratifying by the respective parliaments, which may be a challenge. EU ambassadors have given their OK and the UK parliament will discuss this week. As in any discussion, not everyone will have
Queues at UK ports, especially Dover, Felixstow and Southampton, have been increasing as pre-Brexit stockpiling efforts from businesses on both sides of The Channel were compounded by a new strain of Covid-19. Some tailbacks have been longer than 10 miles last week as companies had been buying and selling additional components and goods in a
UK Export Finance has launched a new financial support product for small exporters in a radical shake-up of governmental international trade support. In partnership with the UK’s leading commercial banks, the new scheme aims to give SME exporters access to working capital to support Covid recovery. The new scheme is backed by government, providing an
Food and drink exports from the UK have fallen by 12.9% so far in 2020 as manufacturers struggle to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty surrounding Brexit. The data, released by the Food and Drink Federation, showed that exports to key markets including Spain were significantly down (almost 34% into the Spanish market), whilst
The UK and Kenya this week signed an economic partnership agreement which will ensure all companies operating in Kenya can continue to benefit from duty-free access to the UK market. The deal is, in essence, a translation of the terms previously agreed between the EU and the East African Community and has scope for further
Company bosses from some of the UK’s leading firms have warned UK Brexit negotiators against brinkmanship as talks look set to resume following a stand-still earlier this week. As Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen were called in to bridge a gap both negotiation parties were struggling to close, business leaders have warned that
At the time of writing, there are just 33 days until the end of the transition period. And whilst 2020 has been incredibly difficult for businesses across sectors, Brexit will wait for no company. Research recently released from Aldermore found that 47% of SMEs who import goods and services from the EU have made no
This month (November) we hosted a webinar as part of Business Wales’ Excelerator Consortium’s growth programme looking at how the Brexit Transition will affect business strategy. Watch the full webinar below, and learn more on the Excelerator Consortium’s YouTube channel here. Learn more about preparing your business with our free Brexit Knowledge Bank, or seek