Brits will pay over £9m in duties on US cars EU buyers won’t face post-Brexit, warn International Delivery Experts
The international courier ParcelHero says Brexit means US buyers will pay £102m in duties on British cars that won’t apply to EU rival brands: threatening the UK’s second largest export market. And Brits will pay over £9m in duties on US cars EU buyers won’t face.
The London-based international courier ParcelHero is warning that if Britain exits the European Union (EU), following a referendum to be held on June 23rd, then a knock-on effect will be a significant decline in trade with the USA. And the impact could be significantly worse if the UK falls outside the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement by quitting the EU.
The aim of the TTIP is to remove customs duties on most EU-US trade. The UK shipped £40.4bn of goods to the USA last year, including over £4.9bn in British-built cars, and imported £39bn of US products, including £92m of cars.
ParcelHero reveals in a significant new report – Delivering Brexit: The True Cost of Leaving the EU – that the US Government’s official Trade Representative, Michael Froman, stated 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 warns that if Britain quits the EU it would not qualify for inclusion in any US-EU trading agreements. In this case, cautions ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks MILT: ‘British cars exported to the US, such as those made by Jaguar Land Rover, would still be hit by the 2.5% US tariff on cars that EU companies will no longer have to pay, leaving us at a significant disadvantage to European competitors.’
13% of all cars made in the UK are shipped to the USA, with an average value of over £20,000. It’s a market worth over £4bn to the UK. David warns: ‘US buyers are likely to turn away from Jaguar and Land Rover towards Mercedes and BMW if it costs over $700 (£500) more to buy a UK product than an EU competitor.’
‘And under the TTIP the EU will in turn abolish its 10% tariff on US cars; leaving the UK alone to pay duties on the £92m of cars it buys from the USA, amounting to £9.2m. Explains David: ‘That means, for example, the popular £25,000 Jeep Cherokee would have its price slashed to just £22,500 post TTIP; but we in the UK will still be paying £2,500 more.’
Many experts believe the trading partnership agreement will be signed before President Obama leaves office in January 2017. But that is after the June 23rd Brexit vote.
It is also predicted that British exports of items such as fuel and chocolate will also be at a disadvantage if TTIP abolishes tariffs on those products as expected.
Says 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’.
Based on its extensive experience shipping between the US, the UK and Europe, ParcelHero also warns there will be increased transport costs, as the UK becomes a less competitive market for US couriers such as FedEx and UPS; and new ‘customs clearance’ charges are imposed by global carriers.
And it warns if the UK looks to sell its cars elsewhere to make good on any US losses, it faces tough import duties in the BRIC markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China: including duties of 125% on cars in India!
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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