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Top tips to avoid export headaches

[ January 30, 2023   //   ]

ParcelHero has compiled five ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for exporters in 2023.

The list of ‘dos’ from the parcels broker are:

Make the most of the over 70 free trade agreements the UK now has in place, from Albania to Vietnam, including a £38.8bn deal with Switzerland and a £20bn agreement with Canada. Others include Singapore, Japan and, later this year,  Australia and New Zealand .

It urges exporters to keep pushing products to Germany, now the UK’s second-largest overseas market, after the US.

Now that China’s strict Covid lockdown laws have been relaxed, its hunger for luxury goods appears to be returning.

Also, consider the opportunities created by the Government’s new freeport economic zones, such as Freeport East.

Firms should also consider trading with the EU or returning to this market if they  quit it post-Brexit. While it is more difficult than previously, because of new tariffs and red tape, some issues are improving, says PareclHero.

However, ParcelHero also warns against  rushing into a return to e-commerce trading with the EU without doing homework, particularly for small sellers. Platforms such as Amazon and eBay offer the easiest route back in, it adds.

Also, exporters should guard against being caught out by new split regulations as the UK diverges from the EU. Many British products sold in the UK will soon need to have packaging and stamping to show they meet UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) regulations. However, it won’t be possible to sell UKCA-passed products within the EU without reassessment by EU bodies. The new UKCA mark was to have been mandatory from the beginning of this year, but the Government recently extended the period until 31 December, 2024.

Nor should traders treat Northern Ireland (NI) as being the same as the rest of the UK. To avoid a hard border with the Republic of Ireland, NI has, in effect, remained in the EU’s single market for goods. Goods moving between GB and NI need an EORI number that starts with XI. To add to the confusion, labelling requirements are set to change. For example, the UKCA markings mentioned above won’t be valid for goods sold in NI, which will still require the EU’s CE marking, and/or potentially a UKCA NI mark.

Exporters should not assume the US is a natural replacement for lost EU sales. Products sent to the US valued at over $800 face tariffs, and the much-vaunted US-UK trade deal has yet to come to fruition. Biden’s new Inflation Reduction Act includes billions of dollars of subsidies for electric cars and eco-friendly products that will only be available to consumers who buy US-made products, which could impact on UK (and EU) exports. 

It also warns against getting caught out by extra charges incurred by volumetric weight corrections on overseas shipments. International carriers bill items based on the combined size and weight of the parcel, using a formula called volumetric weight. To add to the confusion, each carrier uses different criteria to calculate this weight, depending on which service is selected.

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