As Obama calls for Britain to remain in EU, international delivery experts warn Brexit vote would exclude UK from vital new US ‘free trade’ deal
A vote for Brexit puts the UK outside the imminent TTIP trade deal, warns ParcelHero. This means US and UK consumers will continue to pay £millions in duties set to be axed for US-EU trade.
Even as President Obama calls for the UK to vote to remain in the EU, the expert international courier ParcelHero has warned that the UK will fall outside the planned US-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement, by quitting the EU.
Writing in today’s Telegraph newspaper President Obama openly linked Britain's EU membership with the TTIP deal: ‘… the UK has benefited from its membership in the EU… And the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the EU will advance our values and our interests...’ But ParcelHero has released a new report revealing that a ‘go it alone’ UK will certainly fall outside the upcoming TTIP, the aim of which is to remove customs duties on most EU-US trade.
Based on its extensive experience shipping between the US, the UK and Europe, ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT, warns that post-Brexit, there would be increased Transatlantic transport costs as the UK becomes a less competitive market for US couriers; ‘customs clearance’ charges are imposed by global carriers, and many tariffs on US-UK sales remain; that will be scrapped between the USA and the rest of Europe.
Says David: ‘Currently many items sold between the two trading blocks are subject to duties: for example, US buyers pay 2.5% tariffs on EU-built cars and Europe pays 10% on US-made cars. These duties would be scrapped under the new TTIP agreement. But ParcelHero’s significant new report – Delivering Brexit: The True Cost of Leaving the EU – reveals that a go-it-alone UK would not be included in the new partnership and its exports to the US would continue to be subject to US tariffs.’
The UK-US market is a significant one. Last year Britain shipped $57.8bn of goods to the USA, including over $5.86bn cars, and imported $5.46bn of US products, including $133m of cars.
The report reveals that the US Government’s official Trade Representative, Michael Froman, stated its position on a Britain outside the EU in October 2015: ‘We have no FTA [Free Trade Agreement] with the UK so they would be subject to the same tariffs – and other trade-related measures – as China, or Brazil or India.’ The US Trade Representative is effectively warning that if Britain quits the EU it would not qualify for inclusion in any agreements.
Says David: ‘The EU has revealed it expects customs duties will be removed on most items shipped between the USA and EU. That will likely cover items from cars to chocolate bars. The bad news for US shoppers is that UK-sourced items, from Cadburys chocolates to Range Rovers, will continue to be subject to duties on arrival in the US if we do not qualify for the partnership, and the same goes for US products shipped to the UK.’
Many experts believe the TTIP will be signed before President Obama leaves office in January 2017; but not before the UK Brexit vote takes place on June 23rd this year.
Concludes David: ‘The USA is ParcelHero’s largest single country market, representing 25% of our total shipments; and a recent report from our partner delivery company FedEx on UK SMEs found the USA was their top global market beyond the EU. 35% of UK exporting SMEs ship to the US. It’s a vitally important relationship for both countries, and it is concerning that Brexit could have a significant damaging impact on this trade’.
Read the full report at: www.parcelhero.com/brexit
For more information please contact David Jinks, Head of PR, on david@parcelhero.com or by phone on 0208 7584962 (07772 055748 out of office hours)
Leading international online courier ParcelHero® strategically partners with the world's leading logistics companies, including DHL, UPS and DPD, to provide a flexible, cost-effective range of parcel delivery services to over 220 countries worldwide. Huge bulk purchasing power allows ParcelHero® to offer highly competitive pricing with no compromise in service quality.
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