It is approaching three years since the UK and the EU finally sealed the deal that would, supposedly, protect free trade across the Channel.
The so called Trade and Cooperation Agreement hammered out by Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen on Christmas Eve 2020 was a lot better than the “hard Brexit” alternative, but self evidently desperately poor compared with what had gone before. A survey today from Bibby Financial Services reveals that 58% of SMEs — the bedrock of the British economy — that trade internationally are struggling with tariffs, customs and other barriers. It is the single most frequently cited challenge, ahead of the cost of doing business oversas and currency fluctuations.
