A survey of 2,600 UK exporters has revealed that the recovery in export sales has largely stalled in Q3. The proportion of firms reporting increased sales rose only three points (to 30%) from Q2 (27%), whilst the proportion reporting decreased sales fell by just two points (Q3:26%/ Q2: 28%).
The announcement of a deal between the US, the UK, France, Austria, Italy and Spain on digital services taxes, and transitioning unilateral measures taken beforehand, will be strongly welcomed by business in the UK
The BCC looks forward to engaging with the UK Government and the New Zealand Ambassador in the final stages of these negotiations and to giving our views on the draft text at the earliest opportunity.
Commenting on the inflation statistics for September 2021, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “While inflation is uncomfortably high, the Bank of England must hold its nerve on interest rates. Raising rates at a time of escalating cost pressures and looming tax rises would severely undermine an already fragile recovery. “Although global price fluctuations aren’t typically something in the UK government’s direct control, more needs to be done to help businesses keep costs down and stay competitive. This should include a moratorium on all policy measures that increase upfront business costs for the remainder of this parliament.”
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said “This is a positive step on the journey to net zero, however many questions on how we will get there still remain unanswered.
British Chambers of Commerce is hosting a significant in-person presence at COP26 in the City of Glasgow Colleges. Our programme of events features roundtables in which we will hear from industry experts across the business and net zero agenda, as well as thought leadership sessions, practical sessions for businesses and networking opportunities. Our full programme of events can be found here. We hope you can join us in Glasgow.
Attempted recruitment during Q3 was up on previous quarters with 61% overall attempting to recruit (52% in Q2). However, this uptick was followed by large increases in the proportion of respondents reporting difficulty in filling roles – 77% in Q3 (70% in Q2).
Business voices need to be heard loud and clear in the dialogue between the UK Government and the European Commission over the next few weeks.
Labour shortages across the economy, in particular HGV drivers, are identified as a factor in relatively weak imports and exports performance. This further makes the case for Government’s new supply chain task force to find solutions to these issues affecting the UK economy.
GDP remains some way off pre-pandemic levels and there are clear indications that the economic headwinds caused by labour shortages and supply chain disruption are beginning to bite.