West Berks sculptor's business 'suffocated by never-ending red tape' post-Brexit

Antwerp 2022 Brexit Heaven: The adventures of a small exporter

DURING lockdown, N2 ran a series of features on the tough times being experienced by local working artists, makers, musicians and theatrical performers, plus their support industries.

Johannes von Stumm is an internationally-renowned sculptor whose unique combination of three different materials has attracted public and critical acclaim from numerous successful exhibitions, both in the UK and abroad.

He has worked for the last 25 years from his studio at South Fawley, West Berkshire, and is a member of Open Studios scheme. He told us how he had been affected by the pandemic in ‘My bank account and me – a West Berks sculptor’s rocky relationship’ (read it at https://bit.ly/3Ub3PCb).

We decided to see how things were now, and he told us how his business was being destroyed by post-Brexit restrictions.

Having been invited to exhibit his art work in a gallery in Antwerp, Belgium, Johannes set out to explore the new export regulations introduced on January 1, 2021.

“Delivering to and selling my work directly in Europe, as I always did, has now become impossible for two reasons.

“First, I would have had to employ a professional courier. I received five-figure quotes.

“Second, I would have had to pay VAT at the border on all goods which would have added up to a couple of tens of thousands of pounds.

“The only way to get my work over the border was a permission to get a temporary export licence, an ATA Carnet. This means that I can exhibit my goods, but not sell them.”

"The process entailed a plethora of paperwork resulting in 80 pages of Customs Declarations and Johannes’ administrative costs added up to £2,000. Plus, all his goods must be returned to the UK next year.

“It took me many weeks at my desk to figure out how to get my work to the Continent – an unproductive waste of time and sometimes I felt suffocated by never-ending red tape.

“Please, forgive me, dear reader, that I bored you with these details. But it is an example of the wider situation.

Imports to the EU from the UK have dropped in the year 2021 by 13.6 per cent (Eurostat). The number of export relationships fell by 30 per cent (London School of Economics).

“Brexit costs Britain £100bn in lost output and £40bn lost tax revenue every year (Office of Budget Responsibility).

“Small and medium-sized businesses – and soon probably mine too – are dying in their thousands.”