I thought Brexit would be hard for small businesses like mine – but not this hard | Sarah McCartney
The cost of new regulations means we’ve had to pause sales to the EU, losses are mounting and the government isn’t listening
I wasn’t taken by surprise, exactly. I run a small perfume business, and in mid-December we stopped sending deliveries to European Union countries because we wanted to ensure nothing was caught in the rush to beat any new trading rules. In some ways, I had been preparing for such issues ever since the Brexit referendum was called several years ago. I always feared there would be difficulties for small businesses.
A little more than a month into the new regime, and it’s clear that with every new hurdle, there are extra fees to pay. Whether it’s importing raw materials or sending our products around the EU, additional forms need filling in and costs are nudged up. Our perfumery is dealing with new customs rules and new VAT regulations, and losing access to the EU cosmetics market. At midnight on 31 December, all our perfume products automatically became illegal in the EU.
