The new year has arrived and with it ushered in a new era for the UK. The protracted flurry of activity towards the end of last year that led to the free trade agreement with the EU, came more with a whimper than with a bang.
So, it is a new world, it is a new day, but are we feeling good?
My sense is that we have been suffering a national hangover that will take time to clear.
There is a shortage of available 40’ containers in Asia, and as a result transport costs are rising sharply. There are resultant delays, and this robust export demand has the potential to slow down global economic recovery. Also, China has some of the busiest ports in the world and one of the busiest routes is between China and the USA west coast ports. There are so many questions that arise from this, and many lessons to be learned that it is a challenge to know where to start.
by Bryn Atherton, Allseas Global Logistics
As trade and commerce continue as normal during the Brexit transition period, many companies who regularly import and export goods with Europe are becoming increasingly concerned about the threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit. There is plenty of speculation that a free trade agreement between the UK and Europe could yet be achieved. But with discussions still ongoing it’s looking increasingly likely that the UK will revert to WTO trade tariffs from January 2021.
The blurry outline of the landscape is emerging. And it has changed, we just don’t yet know exactly how.
When I wrote my last article we were in the very early stages of lockdown, with fear and uncertainty as the prevailing emotions around the world. Since then many parts of the world have come through the first pass of the virus, though some are still in the thick of it. Political strategies have moved from being nationwide to more regional or hyper localised.
by Tony Goodman MBE.
Well at least we aren’t all worrying about Brexit anymore! The complex situation arising from the Covid-19 global pandemic has caused widespread confusion but has not stopped all trade, and exports are continuing, though they are undoubtedly rapidly slowing. The immediate implication for most businesses is to go into survival mode, changing plans and building contingencies whether their business has been affected or not.
If you have been affected by a slowdown in your business,
So now we know…or do we really?
by Tony Goodman MBE
Whilst we do now have the certainty that we are leaving the EU on 31 January 2020, we will then be entering the 11 month limbo of the transition period up to 31 December 2020. Or is it certain? That is what the UK Government are saying, but the EU are making noises saying that it won’t be possible in that timescale.
by Tony Goodman MBE
Halloween has passed us by and in spite of promises that we would have finally reached a conclusion, we are still in Brexit limbo. Politicians are out canvassing, knocking on doors like some delayed reaction, continuous loop of trick or treat, whilst every business I have been speaking to simply wants this uncertainty to end. It has reached the point when the uncertainty itself is causing more difficulties than either leaving or staying.
As we publish this, the UK political landscape has gone through yet another seismic shift, and we seem to be no nearer a clear exit plan for the UK’s departure from the EU. In fact, new legislation has just come in which makes the case for a further extension to the leaving date from 31 October 2019 to 31 January 2020. GM Business Connect caught up with Bryn Atherton, Commercial Director of Allseas Global Logistics, and asked him about what impact Brexit was having on Allseas;
by Tony Goodman MBE
In the week when we learned that UK exports had risen to a record £647 billion it seems opportune to look at where those exports are going to. With an overall growth of 4% for goods and services, goods alone showed an increase of 4.7% to an annual £357 billion or 55% of the total. This marks a run of 38 consecutive months of export growth on an annual rolling basis. The level of exports as a percentage of GDP still falls woefully behind our European neighbours,
If you ask companies that export whether they regret it, you will rarely hear any negativity. There is a very good reason for that; exporting helps the bottom line as well as the top line, often more easily than with home sales. This would be obvious if you had a very limited market opportunity because of highly specialised products or services, but it also applies to far more competitive market places. British products have a justifiable reputation for quality, design and innovation and can hold their place across the world.
