Vouchers ‘could bring export support for small businesses’ SMEs in line for support for overseas trade — if FSB recommendations are heard currency’s volatility — and Brexit. Some 53 percent of smaller exporters to the EU believe their business continuity and growth will be negatively impacted by a no-deal scenario. No-deal preparations cost on average £2,880, rising to around £3,000 for those that import and or export. FSB national policy chairman Mike Cherry said exporting was a critical part of the British economy. “But … it’s time that the government stepped in and gave small firms the help that they need. “The introduction of export vouchers will alleviate some of the strains that exporting firms are
facing.” It was important to establish an understanding of the terms of post-Brexit trading with the EU and the rest of the world, he said. Uncertainty stops small firms planning and preparing for the future, with 40 percent of exporters saying the factor had a negative impact on their ambitions. Around 21 percent of small firms currently export, but FSB believes that with additional assistance from the Government that figure could double. These financial incentives are “a great way to support small firms” which are “the backbone of the economy”.
Mike Cherry, FSB national policy chairman
Support needed to avoid scenes like this
Export: it’s not all about the big guns
Treasury buildings in Whitehall.
Business Vision Winter 2019-20 Issue • www.bv.world
THE UK’s Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the Department for International Trade and the Treasury to give small firms an injection of support. The FSB wants to introduce export vouchers, to a value of £3,000, to help small firms with costs in translation services, market research, and finding new clients. The aid would be sourced via overseas trade fairs — helping to grow individual businesses and the economy as a whole. The potentially positive impact on exporters of the depreciation in Sterling has been offset by the
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