Brexit brings new opportunities to the European market, and it’s the right time for cross-border sellers to enter the market!

It has been a month since the UK officially left the EU, but the "aftermath" of Brexit is still plaguing British merchants and businesses at all times. However, for cross-border sellers, this is a huge opportunity.

UK-EU trade has suffered a major blow, with a huge gap in the European market

After Brexit, the once free trade between the UK and the EU has suddenly become more complicated with more formalities and paperwork, and various delays have also come one after another. British exporters said that meat and seafood could not enter the European market in time because they had to wait for European health inspections and complicated new paperwork, and could only rot on trucks. In addition, 60% of manufacturing companies suffered "significant damage."

Although the UK-EU trade agreement after Brexit allows goods to circulate without tariffs or quotas, companies will also face new costs, paperwork and other obstacles. Although many companies have done their best to prepare, the details of the new agreement were not finalized until December 24, just over a week before the agreement came into effect, which still caught many companies off guard.

The British government said that all the problems it is currently facing are just "painful problems" in the early stages , and the situation is not that serious: there is no food shortage in the UK, but the government and companies have made reserves based on the epidemic; there is no congestion in the English Channel ports, and the expected worst-case scenario (7,000 trucks lined up in a long queue) has not occurred...

However, business groups said this was because some companies were not involved in the transport of goods at all, with the current flow of goods being only about three-quarters of the level in January 2020, and many companies had "suspended imports and exports from the EU in the hope that the situation would improve."

A recent survey by e-commerce technology company Pitney Bowes showed that a quarter of French and German consumers said they had reduced the number of times they ordered British goods online due to increased costs caused by tariffs and customs requirements. 61% of French consumers and 68% of German consumers plan to reduce online consumption or stop buying products from the UK altogether, which also means that there are currently large gaps in the British and European markets waiting for cross-border sellers to fill.

The China-EU trade situation is good, and Chinese manufacturing has become the main choice for European countries

According to data released by the European Statistical Office last year, the total trade in goods between China and the EU exceeded 425.5 billion euros, making China the EU's largest trading partner. In the second quarter of last year, Chinese companies exported goods worth 11 billion pounds to the UK, making China the UK's largest import partner.

In addition to the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce during this year's epidemic, Chinese sellers have also paid more and more attention to product quality and brand building, and have gained a firm foothold in the European market with the advantages of high quality, low price and strong durability. Now, not only China's traditional manufacturing products, but also some high-tech industries are home to Chinese companies. From masks, ventilators, wigs, household products to small appliances, sweepers, and drones, the European market has been "surrounded" by Chinese products in all aspects .

Even because China is about to celebrate the Spring Festival, European importers are worried that the holiday will cause large-scale shutdowns of Chinese factories, so they have stockpiled a large number of Chinese goods. Some experts believe that Chinese-made anti-epidemic products will still be the main choice for European countries in 2021.

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Cross-border e-commerce market

Brexit