LAW
You can be an export expert
BY SARAH WALKER
Experts – Future Tees panel Peter Snaith , Sharon Lane and Stephen Muir .
Looking to export from Teesside ? The world is your oyster , say experts
The world is a much smaller place in which to do business , with export opportunities opening up across Teesside , thanks in part to the region ’ s new freeport status .
That ’ s the message from Peter Snaith of law firm Womble Bond Dickinson , who states about 70 per cent of his team ’ s work is around supporting businesses with export opportunities through its offices on both sides of the Atlantic .
In Future Tees , a new Tees Business video feature in association with Womble Bond Dickinson , Peter was joined by Sharon Lane , managing director of established exporter Tees Components , and Stephen Muir , international trade advisor at the Department for International Trade .
Stephen offered several reassurances that exporting is easier than most businesses think if you get matters such as taxes and tariffs right from the outset , and there is a wealth of advice available to help businesses put an export strategy in place .
Meanwhile , Sharon spoke of the benefits of being an exporter on Teesside , where businesses help each other to succeed .
She encouraged those thinking about exporting their products or services for the first time to speak to other businesses that had already made waves overseas .
Backing up Stephen ’ s message that exporting is easier than many businesses think , Peter said the biggest barriers are the misconceptions people have around the risk , complexity and cost of becoming an exporter of goods and services .
“ People are concerned with the risk of litigation in America or worry that their intellectual property will be stolen in China ,” he said . “ Businesses need to understand that there is help out there and you can do it on a risk-managed basis .
“ It ’ s nowhere near as complicated as people think .
“ If you ’ re properly organised for selling things down the road , you ’ re 90 per cent of the way to exporting , from a legal perspective , as there ’ s not much more you need to do to make sure you can work overseas .”
As a result , Peter says lots of businesses are “ doing very well and very nicely ,” even despite Brexit bringing in layers of complexity , with customs support and expertise there and growing all the time to help overcome this challenge .
“ Teesside has got a good supply of advisers who can help ,” said Peter , who adds that through Covid and the lockdown , the world has “ suddenly become a smaller place ”, making it easier to do business in new markets .
“ You can get hold of people very easily , very quickly and very cost-effectively now ,” said Peter .
“ I was speaking with a Stockton-based business that wants to break into the US on a Zoom call and I had two of my US colleagues with me advising them .
“ You can have a call with people on the other side of the world in the same way as you would do with someone down the road .”
Peter predicts that Teesside getting freeport status has the potential to transform the region , and “ although it ’ s not a silver bullet ”, it will “ put us on the map ” for both the import and export of goods and services .
“ Teesport will be a destination for products to come into the region , but it will also bring in more businesses that are going to be exporting , so it ’ s going to drive efficiencies in importing and exporting ,” he said .
“ There will be more technology focused around Teesside , and the expertise around importing and exporting is just going to grow and grow , including opportunities for new jobs as well .
“ That doesn ’ t replace the need for an export strategy that falls in part into Stephen ’ s team ’ s area .
“ We also need to pull together a roadmap for local businesses so that they understand what they need to do and create a checklist for support and also the funding that ’ s available because businesses need to know that it is there and they can tap into it .”
To watch the full Future Tees video , visit facebook . com / TeesBusiness
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