Tudor Price of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce discusses the impact of new import regulations. For the full story, see KentOnline.co.uk.
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00:00 So this has actually been a long time coming.
00:01 So this is called the Border Target Operating Model,
00:04 BOTOM for short, lovely acronym.
00:07 It's been around for-- it's been in the offering
00:09 for about four years.
00:10 So really, this is all part of Brexit.
00:13 So for a long time, UK exporters have
00:15 had all of their products checked as they move across
00:19 into Europe, so checking for biosecurity, disease,
00:24 and all that sort of thing.
00:26 This has been delayed and delayed and delayed.
00:28 It's finally coming into effect now on the UK side.
00:31 So those that are importing product,
00:33 their products now are subject to paperwork and potential
00:37 checks.
00:39 Now, there's two problems here.
00:41 One is that there is a cost that's been attached to this.
00:46 Depending on the consignment and the nature of the consignment,
00:49 it can be up to 145 pounds per consignment,
00:52 which if you're a large multinational,
00:54 like supermarkets and stuff, that's actually fine.
00:56 You can carry that cost.
00:58 But if you're a small microbusiness,
01:00 independent of which we have plenty here in Cairns
01:02 and Medway, it's going to hurt.
01:04 It's going to cut into your profit margins.
01:06 And so either you absorb that profit,
01:08 or you're going to have to pass it on.