INDUSTRY ISSUE: EU TRADE
Inset: The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on 31 January 2020, when it will no longer be a member of the EU single market.
The Brexit Effect The Brexit transition period ends this year. With new rules in place from 1 January 2021, we find out what this means for the European party industry and what businesses should do to ensure they are ready for the new rules surrounding exports, imports, tariffs, data and hiring.
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lthough the UK formally left the EU last January, a year-long transition period means that the new rules regarding cross-border trade will be coming into effect from the stroke of midnight on 31 December 2020. New rules will be in place from 1 January – despite no formal trade agreement being in place yet and a no deal exit remaining a real possibility (at the time of going to press!). Of course, this is expected to have far-reaching impacts for the UK and European retail industry, particularly as it will be coming at a time when many retailers are already trading on slim profits and declining sales in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions.
Below: There are already significant delays in place at UK ports, with thousands of containers waiting to be processed.
Top: Elliott Peckett, director, Smiffys Middle: Sergio Battaner, sales and marketing director, Palmer Agencies Bottom: Mark Brett, UK agent, Boland Party
With this in mind, we have posed some of the most pressing questions to three industry experts, all dealing with very different circumstances regarding the new arrangement, but who have all been candid about what Brexit will mean to their business and how they have prepared for the upcoming changes. We spoke to Elliott Peckett, director of UK-based costume and party company Smiffys, Palmer Agencies’ sales and marketing director Sergio Battaner, who gave us his perspective from Northern Ireland and Mark Brett, UK agent for Dutch company Boland Party. Here’s what they had to say... How do you expect Brexit to affect your business and that of your customers? Elliott: “We are hopeful that the preparations and investment in planning that we have made will ensure we experience no interruption to our business or supplies to our valued European customers. However, given there is so much uncertainty with regards to a trade deal, I think
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The Official Advice From 1 January 2021, businesses will need to make customs declarations when they import goods from the EU. To do this, they should:
1. Apply for an EORI number which starts with GB, 2. Apply for deferred custom declarations and VAT payment (this will allow you to declare goods later and speed up the importing process). Businesses can also use someone else to deal with customs declarations for them. For the latest information and more detail, please visit www.gov.uk.
it would be churlish to assume that there will be no impact at all. Indeed, we have already seen non-tariff barriers in importing product into the EU from China and the transition period hasn’t even ended yet, so it doesn’t bode well. In terms of our customers, unless they are buying their products from a supplier that has invested in European infrastructure in the way that we have, there will definitely be issues relating to extra duty charges, regardless of a trade deal. There will also be extra courier charges for cross-border imports and exports and there will almost certainly be delays to
DECEMBER 2020 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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04/12/2020 18:28