“It’s done! Get over it! It’s eight years ago! We’re independent and we’re free!” claimed Nigel Farage on Question Time last week. But the louder he asserted it, the less convinced he sounded. Watch the Brexit that made him becoming an albatross, as it is for the Tories.
This week’s new set of EU trade regulations hammering Britain’s smaller exporters is proof that it isn’t over, but forever adding to our economic woes. From Thursday, general product safety regulations (GPSR) will apply to a huge new range of products. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warns: “The GPSR will be a real barrier to trade.” Exporters will need an agent within the EU or Northern Ireland, costing at least €150 an item a year. “I only found out when eBay said they’d only take GPSR products from this week,” says Noel Humphrey. His company, Electron Electronics, manufactures, sells and trades in small electrical parts. “It will cost me an extra £25 for each soldering iron I sell. If we were still in the EU, this would be no problem,” he says. “And we’d be at the table that makes these rules.” Electron may give up exporting.
