Latest updates and stories from Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce and its Members

Companies that import and export are having a tough time recently with the disruption of Brexit, spiralling prices, and the war in Ukraine, so some positive news would be welcome. And on the surface, the recent reversal of planned import controls delivers this.

The UK left the Brexit standstill transition period on its expiry on 1
January 2021. The terms of the new EU-UK trading arrangements –
in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) – took effect the
same day. In accordance with this, the EU decided to introduce full
border controls on GB goods from 1 January 2021. The UK
Government decided to defer the implementation of inbound GB
border controls in respect of EU goods until 1 January 2022.

With the UK’s exit from the EU now officially achieved, (ongoing wrinkles and wrangles notwithstanding!), many businesses are revisiting the prospects for international trade both within and outside the EU.

For us at the Chamber, international trade is now scheduled to become a year-long focus, and we have added extensive content to our website to give your business access to the international trade resources and services it needs now more than ever, as we explore briefly below.

Once the UK reaches the end of the Brexit transition period, in just 70 days time, the process for importing and exporting goods to and from the EU will fundamentally change.

Commenting on the passage of amendments to the Customs Bill, which commit the government to fully separating the UK from the EU VAT regime, Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today slightly downgraded its medium-term outlook for the UK economy over the next few years. While the BCC has slightly upgraded its UK growth forecast for 2017 from 1.5% to 1.6%, its growth expectations for 2018 and 2019 have been cut from 1.3% to 1.2%, and 1.5% to 1.4% respectively.