UK's BCC meets EU envoys to make case for trade ties reset

The German embassy in the United Kingdom hosted BCC director general Shevaun Haviland and head of trade policy William Bain.

They were joined by the EU Mission and representatives from 16 other EU countries to review the BCC’s analysis and recommendations on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which sets out the rules for trade between the United Kingdom and the EU after Brexit.

BCC analysis of the TCA on the fourth anniversary of its introduction found that 41 per cent of UK exporters disagree the Brexit deal is helping them grow sales, while only 14 per cent of them think the deal is helping them grow.

Forty-six per cent of UK businesses want the government to make it easier for their staff to work in the EU., while 37 per cent want a reduction in value-added tax (VAT) requirements to export to the EU. A quarter want the United Kingdom to align with rules and regulations with the EU in key goods sectors.

UK firms say the biggest barriers to exporting to the EU are customs procedures and documentation (45 per cent), export documentation (39 per cent), regulations and standards (35 per cent) and tariffs (33 per cent), a BCC release said.

Awareness of upcoming changes in trade rules and regulations being made by either the United Kingdom or the EU are also alarmingly low, with more than three quarters of firms knowing no details of much of the legislation.

BCC’s ‘TCA Four Years On’ report sets out 26 recommendations to improve UK-EU trade.

Among its top proposals for discussions in 2025 are negotiating a deal with the EU that either eliminates or reduces the complexity of exporting food for small and medium enterprises; rejoining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) convention to align rules on raw material and components that can be used in exports without incurring tariffs; and establishing a supplementary deal, like Norway’s, that exempts smaller firms from the requirement to have a fiscal representative for VAT in the EU.

The proposals also include making a deal to allow UK firms to travel and work for longer in Europe and vice versa, and provide mutual recognition of professional qualifications, and linking the Emissions Trading Schemes of the United Kingdom and the EU to avoid charges on carbon embedded in exports in both directions.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)