Change is always difficult, but for many businesses the impacts of Brexit are proving frustrating and costly. With the change in relationship from 1st January, all the UK news agencies have been reporting problems with the logistics of exports across many sectors. One month in and problems include:
One of our shipping company customers sums it up more succinctly: “Yeah, it’s carnage out there, trust me on that.”
It has been reported that some companies are being advised by both the Department of International Trade (DIT) and DEFRA to establish subsidiaries in the bloc. However Government states this is not ‘official’ policy.
That’s clearly a drastic measure, and not realistic for the majority of UK businesses.
It will take some time for the new trade rules to settle down and this all comes at a time when companies across the world are struggling to come to terms with the impact of the global pandemic that is Covid-19. Forecasts from the UK’s leading credit insurers are that global insolvencies will increase by more than 20% during 2021.
So the greater risk of customer insolvency or non-payment for goods supplied on credit terms couldn’t come at a worse time.
The good news is that our credit insurance partners have been preparing for the new relationship with Europe, so export credit insurance cover for UK companies has been seamless through the transition and remains available despite the challenging economic outlook
The vital role of export credit insurance in keeping the UK economy moving is evidenced by the UK Government support for UK Credit Insurers, with a £10bn reinsurance scheme. It’s there to allow credit insurers to support export sales. If you want to find out how it might help your business then give The Channel Partnership a call and talk to one of our team of expert advisers.