In the last few months many of our members have been struggling with the consequences of Brexit for their EU business. Most of the issues members are facing are around the same topics: VAT, Duties in one or more directions, understanding the Rules of Origin, EU responsible company, poor delivery performances and escalating costs of transport companies. As a consequence, many UK companies (especially if they manufacture in the EU and/or have substantial business in or via that EU) are finding they need to reconsider their business model and entire logistics set up for dealing with the EU.

Many members have found quick fixes to deal with the biggest challenges, although often at high cost. Others have stopped their EU business altogether for the time being, while they reconsider how they will structure their exports and imports in the future to protect their business with the EU and beyond. Some have also found that sensible use of logistics can also save them money in other areas, while we have also seen an upturn in companies looking to re-source parts of their manufacturing in the UK at www.letsmakeithere.org

In most cases, members looking at an EU base for their logistics are currently looking at the Netherlands first. UKFT has teamed up with a partner based there, which has been serving some of our EU sister organisations for years. The company has developed solutions and a lot of know-how around UK-EU trading. They have been a very valuable support for many of our members in recent months, and they are working on new solutions that will help many more to get their goods into and out the EU and deal with issues like intra-EU VAT. UKFT also has other associates who can also help with the complicated tax issues. We will publish more information on this shortly.

One area of immediate interest is the potential full logistics set up in the EU, something a number of our members are considering or moving forward with. Depending on volumes, this can be a big challenge for many companies but in some cases it can work and the costs and investment can be justified. For smaller companies, other options are available.

We are confident that our partner has the knowledge and network to deliver on this issue for UKFT members trading with the EU. They have already started to save our members money and make their, and their customers’ lives easier.

Members and retail partners of UKFT and UKFT Scotland can receive an introduction to our partner for a free consultation, please email paul.alger@ukft.org. After an initial conversation, he will then connect members our partner in the Netherlands.

This service is only available to UKFT and UKFT Scotland members. To find out more about membership, click here.

UKFT BREXIT GUIDANCE