Nikon U.K. Store Suspends Shipments to Customers Due to Brexit Complications

Nikon U.K. Store Suspends Shipments to Customers Due to Brexit Complications

Nikon’s U.K. website has announced that it has temporarily stopped taking orders from British customers as a result of issues caused by Brexit.

Nikon has not yet issued a press release but its website features several notices, one of which is across the top of its homepage and reads “Due to Brexit changes we are temporarily pausing shipping to the U.K."

Another explains that Nikon “will temporarily not be taking any new orders” while it adjusts to the new rules introduced as a result of the U.K.’s departure from the European Union.

Screenshot from www.nikon.co.uk/en_GB/

One reader commenting on the story reported by Nikon Rumors suggested that the problems have arisen because Nikon's European warehouses are based in the Netherlands. 

Britain is currently adjusting to its new relationship with Europe having completed its departure from the E.U. on December 31. Government officials have assured citizens that any friction is temporary and will be resolved as companies create systems to manage the new paperwork required for moving goods in and out of the U.K. Many small and medium-sized businesses in the U.K. have experienced difficulties shipping their products to Europe and some have been advised by the U.K.'s Department for International Trade (DIT) to set up businesses within Europe to avoid further problems.

As reported by CNN Business, although its government continues to claim that the deal it reached with the E.U. will ultimately prove a success for the country, Britain is beginning to realize the consequences of its newly acquired status: rotting fish, red tape, and lost business.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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24 Comments

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.... takes a breath. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Buahahaha, I hope they enjoy their own stupid decision and the finalized process by their clown minister

In many case, rematch is not an option. Just hope after that clown went down some great things will happen there. Like listening to the 49% who actually have brain.

With brexit Now I have difficulties to import gray market stuff from Hong Kong.

I am sincerely sorry for our brit friends...
But come one... outside of Brexit, UK has always refused to play the European Union Game : from keeping the pound, to "I want my money back",... Britain has always ttied to play alone.... so now you are... all on your own...

Off course EU is far from being perfect.... but like it or not, you live in a global world... Now your best assets (city jobs) are going to relocate super fast to Frankfort, Brussels or Paris.... and physical goods won't be able to move to or from Britain. You own factories won't be able to get raw materials easily or without tax even if you do manufacture for you own market. And you will be taxed on food coming from EU (UK is not the most sunny field). So sad you have been so much lied to by Lords and politicians who won't have any difficulties moving out from the UK with their business or financial activities, leaving their citizen with just their pain left...

What a moronic comment. The UK is far from alone having secured over 50 new trade agreements all over the world, regaining our lucrative fishing waters, to which many EU fishermen are crying they'll go bankrupt, like we give as much of a crap about them, as they did to our fishermen.
You're obviously the type is person that believes all the crap that VDL, Barnier, Juncker tells you. Within a few years, the corrupt EU regime will be non existent.
We won't be taxed any more than usual, because the EU still needs the UK far more than the UK here the EU.
Our financial sector will stay put, our fishing industry will regain its strength once more, and we'll continue to innovate and trade far more freely than we did under the EU thumb. Without our considerable financial input, the EU is already struggling, with several EU member states considering also dropping out, now they've seen we were right to leave.

Then you've got our 'moronic' govt having the foresight to order covid vaccines 3 months before your EU leaders, who then panic and try to illegally overrule contractual obligations, but soon come to their senses.

We'll be just fine thanks. Although I'd love to get rid of all the leftie snowflakes too, because if they don't like this country, why don't they just fuck off?

' . . .regaining our lucrative fishing waters, to which many EU fishermen are crying they'll go bankrupt . . .'

Woud you like to revisit this statement given that many UK fishermen are going out of business as a direct result of a bad (lied to) exit agreement.

I see this as Nikon being screwed more than the British.

Still I'm surprised that Nikon is caught by Brexit like this and was not prepared better for it.

Basically, Nikon did sod all in terms of prep and now it has realised it was stupid.

Then there is the clearly misleading line "advised by the U.K.'s Department for Trade and Industry" which is not what the article linked to actually says. It says advisers to the government are saying, this not the goverment or government payroll advisors, they are independent of the goverment.

Finally, the CNN article is a woefully misleading piece and shoddy journalism. Maybe try a reliable source like the BBC, I can recommend the Newcast podcast that actually describes in its most recent episode how these bumps have already mostly been smoothed out.

I say all of this as a person who didn't vote for Brexit.

The Biased Buggering C%*ts are far from a reliable news source.

There's a price to pay - it's sad - but as a European - i do understand that a large minority that wanted to stay in the EU - feels betrayed. They knew troubles where coming.
Let's hope it doesn't take too long to get things sorted out - and speed up the transport of food, and goods in both ways.
But it won't be as good as it used to be - that's part of the deal - isn't it?

It depends, the EU was and still is, desperately jealous of the UK FinTech industries especially since the City own a lot of the EU debt. One of the reasons they've ramped up the rhetoric over deregulation or 'Singapore-on-the-Thames" as they put it. The UK is likely to partner with the Swiss in the finance sector despite the EU spending 8 years to try and do the same.

Also the UK will be joining CPTPP trade bloc which is likely to be fast tracked, something EU can won't adapt to because it's their way or the highway. The UK chose to become adaptable. Combine that with the freeports that's been created the UK is potentially building the biggest threat to the EU trading markets.

Thing is everyone is condemning Brexit is bad, realistically we won't know until at least a decade down the line. You can't undo 40 years of integration overnight. In any case the EU should be looking to it's own survival over the next decade After all Merkel steps down this year, pressure is building over North/South, Target2 and so many other woes are besetting the bloc.

So at the end of the day the UK was dragged into the EU from the EEC and despite it's early promise ended up costing the UK far more. The UK was the second largest net positive contributor to the bloc, and you have to ask yourself is a global market like Asia worth more than a bureaucratic nightmare that's the EU? Freeports in the UK will change the trading dynamic of Europe in the years to come. It's not going to be without the growing pains, but the UK has had over 300 years of trading experience and industry, much of which was lost when the UK joined the EU. That's one of the core reasons for the nation's Euro-Scepticism the other is the dominance of France and Germany, in particularly the former who's hated the British at least politically.

Not the first company I've spotted that's done this. Orbea (a high-profile Spanish company that make bicycles), has also stopped selling on their UK website citing Brexit issues.

It's only because Nikon EU HQ is based in the Netherlands, and they were obviously caught out, just like VDL and her cronies with the covid vaccines.

Brexit means Brexit 😂

Mmm I ordered a Canon Rf 85 f2 on Jan. 5, from Canon UK website it was Dispatched on Jan, 12 buy UPS and so far ( arriving 15, then released by customs on 18, Delayed on 18, Import scan on 18, Customs Delayed 19, delayed 20, import scan 21, in transit 21,import scan 22, last informed Held in Warehouse). Wonder if it will ever arrive!

Did they ask you to pay import taxes?

Not been aked as yet! already paid UK tax, so I ain't going to be paying anything....

Looks like Nikon are in serious trouble (if you believe this article) and they are to stop making DSLR’s.
https://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/toyokeizai-reports-nikons-camera-busine...

Didn't Canon say that camera sales are 8 percent of what they were around 2007? In this case, Nikon is doing great.

Not trying to sound funny here, but since when did anyone buy camera gear directly from the manufacturers own store? I don’t think I’ve ever done that.

Was the Only place that had one in stock, But turns out not actually in the UK!

Canon UK also predicting delays, see https://store.canon.co.uk/delivery-information/.

The Olympus sorry OMD Digital solutions website for the UK is still under maintenance, so you can't order from them either.
Spookily the Japanese have a direct Free Trade agreement with the UK.
The problem the European distribution hubs like those in the Netherlands have shipping to the UK is a cash flow one. The new rules require the EU importer of goods into the UK to pay Value Added Tax at 20% (for Americans Purchase Tax) at point of entry, to the UK Government. Before BREXIT the tax was only payable on the final consumer sale.
The tax paid by the EU importer company is claimed back by the UK Importing company who charges the final VAT to the end consumer.
All goods transferred inter state between companies in EU states are VAT free, but not within states.
This allows EU Corporations to set high transfer prices from an EU state with a low corporate tax rate (for example a 5% rate due to intellectual property rights compared to a standard 20-30% one) when sending to higher rate corporate tax states.
Clearly businesses will need to adjust to continue as much tax avoidance as possible. (It's what they do).
Japan or any other Country exporting goods directly to the UK, will cut out the EU middlemen, their handling costs and any tax avoidance mark ups. Which no longer work..
When the dust settles the UK business environment should improve, with UK businesses previously run at a deliberate loss, starting to declare profits, due to the aforementioned tax avoidance practices ending. This might in turn lead to more profits being declared in the UK, leading to a lowering of corporate taxes and eventually lower consumer prices.
As the sayings go 'Rome wasn't built in a day' and 'In order to make an omelette you have to crack a few eggs'.
And yes I was wearing my Rose tinted spectacles when writing from 'When the dust settles..'
It takes roughly 6 weeks to get sea freight from China/Japan to the UK, although high unit value, low weight products like cameras might be air freighted. Just may be the global pandemic is also playing its part as there were earlier reports of disruption to camera manufacturer supply chains.
If you're in the UK putting off your camera purchase until Summer or even Autumn should be possible as you're supposed to be staying at home during this the (for some) third lock down.