EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

Perfect opportunity for the UK to start making bougie bike parts like the US.

We've got a wealth of motorsports manufacturers, surely they can spin off some cnc cranks.

So what is this tariff free access to the EU market all about?

For stuff that qualifies as being made in the EU or the UK, no tariff payable, but you have to pay the shipping agent, customs fee, and the courier to deal with all the new hassle.

If the item isn’t made in the UK or the EU then it doesn’t qualify for the FTA, so you pay tariffs on top of all the other new fees.

For e.g. when (say) Brompton make a bike they will have to hit a threshold for the UK made parts (which may vary per category) for it to count as UK made- and if they hit it, no tariff. But they have to prove the UK%, and it costs to do that as their whole supply-chain has to now audit and prove where they sourced the parts. If they fall below the % then a tariff is payable on the whole bike, despite the FTA.

Plus all the customs bollocks.

If your item is hard to document then you might choose to pay the tariff/price the tariff in as that will be cheaper than proving where all your inputs came from.

YT

YouTube?

Looks like there could be a £130 threshold...?

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Maybe. See also “because of COVID”... we have to charge you this fee

Young Turks, they make MTBs now.

That’s the threshold where the receiver has to pay the VAT and so on rather than the sender, IIRC, which I suspect the retailer doesn’t want to have to deal with so is removing it from being an option.

because they’ll (and everyone else) will need to fill out a customs declaration

If you spend any tine in a pub (remember those days?) with me and @mespilus, he will tell you of the horror days of yore when paperwork was the bane of international trade, and I will say that in the modern world technology will vanquish all. We are now in the endgame when we finally will have real life examples to support or knock down those edifices.

The high level summary of the deal released so far looks pretty good to me. No role for the ECJ, essentially continued free trade arrangements. Could have been much worse. BJ has delivered what he promised in the election.

Look forward to reading the full details.

And in the details we find, drum-roll please, a continuing role for the ECJ. In a limited and specific way, but a core to build on for EMA/ESA/etc.

Wut?!? Where am I supposed to buy cheap bike bits from now?

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Come on now, we've been told that the gravity model of trade is bunk - so China or Vietnam are where we will be buying bike parts from in future.

Can I call it the pathetic shit filled hate bag? I had that opinion before the right wing back stabbing knighted tried and failed to prosecute a few friends of mine.

I remember the 'fun' bring booze and food from Europe to this country. Am I was born after we joined the common market.

With great consumer rights?

Let the leavers tell us that?

Does anyone understand rules of origin?

I sell bike parts online (about 15% to EU countries). The parts mostly originate in japan/China/USA.

Will my EU customers now have to pay duty and VAT for this stuff if it’s over £135?

(Also, when do I pay VAT on sales to EU?)

Thanks

Yes, I believe- and also potentially under 135 also.

The VAT I am not sure on tbh, you may have to charge it for the country of delivery and then remit it to them (this is what the UK is doing), or just leave it to the buyer.

It’s a good thing we have ample of times to process the new system then.

It’s very confusing. I assume the price your customers pay currently includes the duty and VAT so they only pay shipping to their location. Now will they need to pay duty, VAT and possibly some kind of handling fee to import them into the EU? That’s going to be a lot of extra charges for the consumer

Looks like there's going to be a years period of grace during which you can claim retrospectively for duties paid on goods that you can later prove should have had preferential (i.e. no tariff) treatment under the FTA. This is because most people won't be able to provide the certificate required on the 1st of Jan.

I suspect for stuff that originates in for e.g. Japan you're buggered, however.

Currently they only pay shipping (the uk VAT that i pay is included in the price.) & any duty I paid bringing the stuff in is already factored in when I set the retail price.

I think with this deal (and the ROO) my EU customers will now have to pay duty (4.7% on bike parts and 20% on complete bikes), plus domestic Sales tax (currently 20% in the U.K. & france, 19% in Germany etc). Plus approx £12 handling fee. Plus about a week delay to process.

Depends on the item, but on average the cost to my EU consumer goes up about 45%. (Standard order is about £50)

🇬🇧 🇬🇧 🇬🇧

They won’t have to pay UK VAT, just their own countries.

VAT is kinda British, everywhere else uses GST. European countries will now be like any other 3rd country shipment as opposed to being a ‘domestic’ shipment.

There’s an EU wide import cost, deminimis , threshold and charges so the same rule applies for Germany as it does for France. Unlike your shipping partner, DHL may charge you €8 for custom clearance in Germany and €11 in France. They do WTF they like.

Depending on how the UK government chooses to handle taxation for exporters you’re unlikely to be worse off. It’ll be tax on import vs. tax on export. There’ll be a diff in the amounts because cost vs selling price but I suspect it’ll be swallowed back in tax giveaways.