Fears and hopes among employers at the end of the Brexit transition | UK News

Entrepreneurs across the country are waiting to see what the first day out of the customs union and the single market holds for them.

While some are optimistic about the change in business rules since New Year’s Day, others say it has led them to regret their Brexi vote.

At Birmingham Wholesale Market, hundreds of boxes of produce have come and gone before the sun rises.

This place relies on a constant flow of trucks, with some traders sourcing up to 80% of their products from the EU.

It has been a difficult year for Tahir Amin, who runs A1 Veg Ltd, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler.

Business has already fallen 70% at the hands of the pandemic; many of its clients belong to the catering industry, which has been hit hard.

Importing stock “is definitely going to be a little bit more expensive,” he says, “for customs, for transportation, for many other reasons, it starts tomorrow so we’ll see.”

On the other side of the market, Peter Marshall, president of fruit and vegetable wholesaler Hegashall Ltd, is also not sure how everything will play out.

“There is going to be an impact,” he says.

“There will be a cost involved and that cost will be passed on to the consumer, because obviously with the extra paperwork and the extra time in ports.

“I voted for Brexit, but I think if I had my time again … I don’t know.”

Marshall says it’s the impact on his business and the toll Brexit has taken across the country that has made him question his vote.

But there is also optimism in the market.

Steven Waters, owner of fish and seafood merchants J. Vickerstaff, said: “I don’t think they make a big difference in the long run.

“In the short term, there may be a couple of weeks where suppliers are a little nervous, but in the long term I am very optimistic. I think it is a great opportunity for this country as a whole, we should seize it with both hands. “

According to the trade agreement between the UK and the EU Although most products will not face new tariffs or quotas, there will be customs controls on everything that crosses the EU and the UK and on many items to and from Northern Ireland.

Some products, including certain UK animal food products, will have to comply with new rules and restrictions and carriers will need new “Kent access permits” to enter the county.

It can mean delays at ports and many fear a repeat of the long queues seen in Dover after France closed the border over concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus.

The Essex-based transport company Young’s Transportation and Logistics is so concerned that it is temporarily halting all European services to assess whether they will be “mission impossible.”

Young’s CEO Rob Hollyman said: “The dangers of being involved in long delays and not receiving income from those long delays would cost more money.

“It’s a gamble on our part, we could have a lot of eggs in our faces next week, but I suspect not, I think it will be a very challenging week next week.”

Many other companies are now faced with complying with completely new sets of rules in order to be able to sell their products in the EU and make the changes more impactful to small businesses.

Renee Watson’s company makes science kits for kids; she estimates the new security certifications will only cost her £ 20,000. She says stress is affecting her mental health.

Ms. Watson said: “I am really concerned that there will come a time when cash flow becomes a real problem.

“I may not be able to pay my team, and the stress and mental burden of that far outweigh anything else.

“I’m really concerned about the actual tangible and financial impact. This is not a stance on the impact of Brexit and the possibilities, this is about now – small businesses are really struggling to keep going financially.”

Very few business owners were of working age when the UK first joined the European Common Market in 1973.

For many, for better or worse, January 1 heralds a whole new era for British business.