UK online retailers go Europe
A growing number of British online retailers are seeking to ease the extra customs and tax administration and costs involved in trading with the EU by shifting stock from UK warehouses to storage facilities on the Continent.
“The addition of VAT, customs duties, and in some cases tariffs, on shipments sent from the UK to customers across the channel – not to mention delays at ports and increased shipping costs – are prompting many businesses, including e-commerce firms, to reconfigure their European supply chains,” says Charlie Walker, marketing director of online fulfilment and logistics services specialist, Walker Logistics.
By fulfilling orders from distribution hubs located within mainland Europe, UK exporters are able to avoid the need for their EU-based customers to pay the VAT charges and customs duties which have been effective since 1 January.
Walker believes that USA and Asia-based traders who export to Europe are choosing to shift stock out of the UK, too. “Under the ‘rules of origin’ criteria that form part of the Brexit agreement, products that are not made in Britain, attract tariffs when re-exported from the UK into the European market,” he explains. (sh)