Brexit poses ‘existential’ threat to some UK firms, BCC says

Businesses are also bracing for extra controls which will apply to imports from the EU from April and July, threatening to coincide with rising economic activity as the UK emerges from lockdown restrictions.

Many UK small firms are facing an “existential” threat as they grapple with obstacles Brexit has imposed on trade with the European Union, one of the country’s largest business groups said.

People walk by Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), London (Reuters File Photo/Representative Image )

About half of UK exporters are experiencing difficulties, mainly in the form of extra documentation, higher costs, and delays to shipments, according to a survey of 465 firms by the British Chambers of Commerce. About 95% of the respondents were small businesses.

Since Britain left the EU’s single market and customs union on Jan. 1, firms have had to adapt to a raft of new paperwork when sending goods to the EU, the UK’s biggest and closest trading partner. Agricultural exports -- in particular food and meat -- have been particularly badly hit by the need to provide export health certificates signed by a qualified vet, leaving trucks that once moved freely across the Channel facing days-long delays at times.

Businesses are also bracing for extra controls which will apply to imports from the EU from April and July, threatening to coincide with rising economic activity as the UK emerges from lockdown restrictions. Marshall said the government should postpone these controls, and significantly increase the support it offers to firms.

“This situation could get worse,” he said. “These timescales need to change.”