The government is being urged to take steps to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who export goods to EU countries following Brexit by cutting the regulations involved.
This call has come from the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), the representative of more than 10,000 firms of all sizes across the UK. It has released a manifesto in response to the difficulties many SMEs that rely on exporting are having negotiating the post-Brexit regulations. This calls on both the EU and the UK government to work together to reduce paperwork and processing for exports.
Among the issues it wants to see addressed are cross-border VAT rules, animal and plant product trading restrictions and the agreeing of a deal for industrial goods safety marking. It also wants the government to hold off on raising National Insurance contributions and to reinstate the SME Brexit Support Fund.
There are some forms of support still available to SMEs, as professionals like an accountant for small business in Goole or any other area of the country can be of real assistance to them.
Speaking to Small Business, Shevaun Haviland from the BCC said:
“Our research shows that overseas trade fell off a cliff in early 2020; just 8 percent of UK exporters saw any increase in the second quarter of that year.”
Haviland went on to add that any improvement in this situation was very slow, with roughly one quarter of firms affected saying that things were getting better. Haviland concluded by calling on the government to do more.