Brexit has helped to create at least 500 jobs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Philippines over the last quarter as companies turn to overseas labor to manage a wave of incoming red tape.
DDC FPO Solutions, a US firm which helps freight forwarders process customs documents, has taken on the staff in those countries due to a surge in demand linked to Brexit.
After Britain leaves the EU’s single market on Dec. 31, hundreds of millions of extra customs forms will have to be filed annually to keep trade flowing, and the UK has a shortage of agents to do the work.
“It is becoming very apparent that there is a serious gap between what forwarders, transport, and logistic providers need, and what they currently have,” Madison Conway, director of marketing at DDC FPO, said in a telephone interview. “The gap is being exposed.”
Companies are racing to prepare for new obstacles to UK-EU trade from 2021 that will be imposed even if the two sides agree to a free-trade deal. Romania and India have also benefitted as firms seek out lower-cost overseas labor to handle the new paperwork. — Bloomberg
