During the pivotal period leading up to - and following - the momentous triggering of Article 50, the media has called on the Institute’s expertise to explain the significance and impact of the milestone on international trade.
With a raft of invitations and approaches for comment and interviews and requests for authoritative articles coming in regularly, the Institute has featured in specialist publications, major mainstream titles - and national broadcasters.
Our director general, Lesley Batchelor OBE appeared on a BBC Breakfast interview with popular presenter, Steph McGovern, on the day Article 50 was triggered as part of a special series along the A50 to find out how the journey to Brexit will affect local businesses.
Stressing the increased level of work ahead for companies dealing in international trade, Lesley outlined how the number of shipments classed as exports/imports would immediately spike from 90 million to 300 million upon leaving the EU.
With HMRC typically pulling 4 per cent of these for random inspection, the raised training and administration costs to business for the additional declarations alone could amount to £3.4 billion.
Later that day, Lesley featured among the business leaders in the Guardian on the move from the EU. Here, the director general called for the interests of the millions of small British businesses and the future of 2.7 million manufacturing jobs to be kept front of mind during negotiations.
Lesley also spoke to Trade Finance Global on the Institute’s recent Optimism Survey and Brexit uncertainty and our senior director of special projects, Mike Josypenko, was invited by Accountancy magazine to compile an article on the implications for SMEs of the UK exiting the EU single market and customs union.
Lesley Batchelor said: “As the only professional body in the UK offering recognised, formal qualifications in International Trade, being invited for media comment enables us to share our expertise on vital issues that will affect businesses.”
Our support in these unprecedented times also includes our Post Brexit Planning Workshops to help companies assess its impact on their existing exports – both immediately and in the long term. They run throughout the year so check out our Training section at export.org.uk/page/TrainingCourses.
Brexit will also figure prominently in our new series of free regional summits. Held in Northern Ireland and the South West across June and July, each explores a region’s opportunities to enter new markets. You can register here.