British government encourages firms to partially move to EU – Reports

British government agencies are encouraging companies to partially relocate to the EU in order not to risk their export business after Brexit, according to media reports.

The Observer newspaper and the BBC reported that several companies are now planning to relocate. This would allow them to avoid additional customs duties and VAT as well as red tape.

Simon Spurrell, co-founder of the Cheshire Cheese Company, told the BBC that a transshipment centre in the EU was the only solution.

Since Brexit, he said, every tasting box worth 25 to 30 pounds (34-41 dollars) going to the EU would have to have a health certificate issued by a vet at a cost of 180 pounds.

A spokesman for the Department for International Trade stressed it was not government policy to recommend businesses move to the EU, the Observer reported.

The cheese trader said it has now rejected the idea of building a warehouse in England. “Instead we might end up employing French workers and paying tax to the EU,” Spurrell said.

In the Observer, two medium-sized companies announced plans to move parts of their business to the EU.

Source: GNA