With tweezers. This is how experts warn that the impact of Brexit must be measured in the first months after it became effective.
According to Paula Surridge, professor at the University of Bristol and deputy director of UK in a Changing Europe (UK in a Changing Europe) , an organization founded by the Social Sciences Research Council and British economic, many citizens have not yet sense the effects of leaving your country from the European Union.
“One of the main reasons for this is that many of the activities in which I would see the impact of Brexit on the general public are not happening at the moment due to the pandemic, such as, for example, traveling on vacation in Europe ”, The academic tells BBC Mundo.
“If someone goes to the supermarket and sees that there is a shortage of some fruit or vegetable, they will not know if it is an effect of the pandemic or the B rexit. ”
In the coming weeks, he explains, when the economy and society begin to open up a little more, after three confinements , it is possible that the British will be able to see more clearly some impact on their lives of their departure from the European bloc, which was completed and formalized on 31 from December to 2020.
And they agree on that other experts consulted by BBC Mundo: due to the pandemic, the majority of British people have not yet experienced the main changes of Brexit.
Without However, some consumers and companies have already started to feel some effects:
1. More expensive online purchases if they come from the EU
Some in the UK have noticed that their online purchases in EU stores have become more expensive.
BBC journalist Tom Edgington points out that this is because there all charges are covered by a trade agreement that was established between the UK and the EU under Brexit.
Value added tax (VAT), a sales tax, always has been required for EU products, but since Brexit, the way it is applied has changed and this is explained by the reporter:
“Previously, the consumer would have paid the local tax of the VAT.
For example, if you bought a sweater in a store in Sweden, would have paid Swedish VAT. Now, you have to pay the British, which is 20%.
For any product below 135 pounds sterling (US $ 188), VAT should be automatically included in the final price paid in the internet transaction.
The Most products that cost more than 135 pounds now require UK VAT paid at the delivery point , as it is no longer included in the online payment.
Therefore, if you buy a very expensive sweater from an EU seller, the courier company will now ask you to pay VAT before it is delivered.
And this could be a shock if the retailer does not know made it clear before making the purchase.
In the case of buying from an online marketplace, small sellers must now charge UK VAT when offering their items on sites such as Amazon, eBay or Etsy.
Therefore the cost could increase when a delivery address located in the UK is entered.
– Customs duties
Customs duties also apply to goods worth more than 135 pounds.
There is no need to pay any customs charges if the expensive jersey was made and manufactured entirely in the EU.
But it is possible you need to pay customs duties if the EU seller originally imported it from a non-EU country.
And the same charge could apply if a certain percentage of the materials used to make that garment comes from outside the EU (in what is known as rules of origin).
Consumers can contact the retailer before buying to make sure if you should pay a customs duty.
There are different rates depending on what is purchased and some goods do not have any customs duty charge.
Before Brexit, the tariff It would have been paid by whoever imported it to the EU for the first time and then it could have been moved to other EU countries, including the UK, without further charges. ”
– Gifts sent from the EU
Edgington explains that any gift from the EU for a value greater than 39 pounds (US $ 54) is subject to VAT.
If a friend buys a gift directly from a retailer ta German and asks to have it delivered to a person in the UK, the courier will likely ask the recipient to pay VAT or duty on customs owed.
But the person sending the gift can ask the seller or the shipping company if they can be prepaid, which is known as paid delivery duties, to avoid the possible situation embarrassing that the recipient has to pay to receive your gift.
2. No more “tampon tax”
The elimination of VAT for tampons and sanitary napkins was “ the first ‘dividend’ of Brexit , announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on January 1, one day after the end of the transition period, ”noted BBC journalist Adam Fleming.
Women’s rights advocates had been fighting for years to end the tax, which was an increase of 5% of the price of these products.
It was a controversial law because the VAT that was applied to these sanitary articles meant that they were classified as “ luxury articles “, something that many people described as” sexist “.
” I am proud that today we are c Fulfilling our promise to eliminate the tax on tampons. Sanitary products are essential, so it is correct that we do not charge VAT, “said Sunak.
The government indicated that it was able to take the measure because was no longer subject to the European Union rules on medical devices thanks to Brexit.
3. More ‘red tape’, the voice of businessmen
“The UK’s new trade relationship with the EU could only be a few months old. But some companies are struggling to adapt to the new commercial landscape outside the customs union and the single market, ”said Lora Jones, a journalist from the Business Unit of the BBC.
Jones spoke with three British businessmen from different sectors:
– The perspective of a company company of fabrics
Ben Taylor and Alice Liptrot founded Country of Origin, a knitwear company that employs four people and sells wholesale clothing to independent stores and online customers.
According to Ben, about a third of sales are made to customers in the European Union.
“But since the end of January, (the business) has decreased “.
Ben says the company has been involved in a” onslaught management ”and that in around 100% of orders shipped to the EU, after Brexit, customers have had to pay additional charges .
A customer from the Netherlands was asked to pay 100 additional euros (US $ 120) in your request, says Ben, for “government fees”, without further explanation from customs agents.
– The experience of a sausage exporter
Steve Howell and his company Foodlynx sell British sausages, bacon and bread to hotels and restaurants in the EU.
Usually sends one or two trucks a week and up to six when it is the peak summer season.
But the company was delayed by three days in the only shipment it made since Brexit.
Its truck was detained in the port of Le Havre in France when customs officials questioned if the certificates of some animal products had been filled out correctly.
It was transferred to another nearby cold storage unit while the problem was solved.
Steve was charged 3. 914 euros (US $ 4. 700) for storage and administration expenses.
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Although recent statistics show that exports from the United Kingdom Together with the EU they fell significantly in January, Steve believes that there are other factors at play.
“Demand decreased due to covid last year, in addition, like many others, we advise our clients that is stocked close before Christmas to avoid these kinds of delays. ”
“ Now, customers are running out of stock and we are still trying to wrestle with paperwork, new labeling regulations and compliance (with regulations). ”
“ The objective (of Brexit) was to regain control of our country, ”says Steve . “We have succeeded in doing the exact opposite because the British exporters are completely defeated.”
– The “additional stress ”from a spare parts dealer
Martyn Wilson created his classic auto parts company ago 12 years and approximately 73% of orders are shipped to the EU.
Citroen Classic Car Parts generally sends 130 articles per month, but difficulties arose quickly.
“To the courier services, I have to provide them with customer contact details and often have to write to them in French and German to get it, which is a drama we never had to deal with before “, says Wilson.
Some goods sent to Italy, for example, never arrived and others were returned because customers did not pay for the new ones charges .
“Certainly, it has impacted us from a mental point of view. It’s a lot of added stress and you’re continually trying to meet deadlines, trying to get good customer reviews and making sure products are delivered. ”
“ I’m going to get by in the best way possible and maybe this will push me to think a bit outside the box. ”
“ Maybe in the long term it will be good for us, but we are crossing the pain barrier. ”
What do the figures say?
The 12 April Chambers UK Trade published a survey they conducted between 2. 900 British exporters and found what what 41% of companies had registered a decrease in sales export in the first quarter.
Respondents cited Brexit and the impact of covid – 17 as the main causes of problems
“We ask the UK and the EU to come back to the table and present solutions that reduce trade barriers and give exporters a chance to win “, said in a statement the co-executive director of that organization, Hannah Essex.
” The difficulties that exporters face are not just ‘problems initials’. These are structural issues that, if left unaddressed, could lead to a long-term and potentially irreversible weakening of the UK export sector ”, he pointed out.
A month earlier, on 12 March, Office for National Statistics (ONS , for its acronym in English), had reported that exports of goods from the United Kingdom to the European Union had fallen 40, 7% in January , while imports fell 28, 8%.
That organization indicated that it was probably due to temporary factors and added that the data showed that things had started to improve.
And it is difficult to determine how much of that drop was due to Brexit and how much to the pandemic.
“Part of the drop in both imports and exports can be attributed to the fact that companies on both sides of the Channel (La Mancha) had stored products before the end of the Brexit transition period, therefore they didn’t need to move as much goods in January, ”BBC journalist Andy Verity noted in March.
“Another part is also due to the pandemic and, in some industries, it is difficult to separate the fall from any effect of Brexit.”
“However, as economists have pointed out, it is not a question of sweetening a fall of 40, 7% in exports of goods to the European Union in January, our first month under the new trade agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson and signed on Christmas Eve. ”
“They have returned to their normal levels”
A government spokesperson said: “A unique combination of factors, including the accumulation of stocks last year, the confinements by covid in Europe and the companies that adjust to our new commercial relationship, made it inevitable that exports to the EU were lower this January than in the past ”.
“These data do not reflect the general trade relationship between the EU and the UK after Brexit and, thanks to hard work from carriers and traders, overall UK-EU freight volumes have returned to normal levels since the beginning of February. ”
And, yes, that month UK-EU trade recovered, but partially.
Official figures show that exports to the EU increased 46, 6%.
However, the Office for National Statistics said that were still below last year’s levels and that imports the EU had seen a weaker recovery.
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