The CSM Associates brings years of experience to you on a very wide range of issues to help strengthen and expand your business. Its approach is revolutionary – we combine business awareness, intelligence and acumen with unrivalled access to technical knowledge of legal and other matters. We are a “one stop shop”. We will either use our own experience or access our wide network of advisors to get you to where you need to be.
Our principals have been in the world business marketplace for many years, stretching from Europe to the Americas and the Far East. We can help you with introductions in this country and overseas and provide ongoing liaison and support if this is required.
We can negotiate on your behalf or alongside you. We have particular experience of product placement and the management of large volumes of sales, licensing, distribution agreements and manufacturing. We can also provide you with all-important advice and support in the area of intellectual property, using either our own expertise or outsourcing to professionals on advantageous terms.
Above all, we understand the need to keep the customer happy whilst making profits out of a business relationship.
Managing the workforce is a key ingredient to business success and human resource management has become an increasingly complex area that we are equipped to handle or outsource on your behalf.
At present, all these business issues are handled in a pan-European market place in which we enjoy the benefits of membership of the EU as well as being subject to the rules and regulations which it imposes. Currently, UK companies are able to trade with the EU on a tariff free and quota free basis. BREXIT has thrown all of this in doubt.
Having given notice to leave the EU under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the UK is required to negotiate a single deal with the 27 remaining EU states under the EU’s common commercial policy. This will definitely not be on a country-by-country basis. The EU maintains a single harmonised customs border and the UK will simply have to negotiate with the EU the continued terms of trade with the EU as a single unit. At worst, if there is no deal, BREXIT could result in all UK exporters being subject to tariffs and quotas – “the bad old days”.
The negotiating process is likely to be fraught with difficulties. Whilst there is a high degree of expertise in the British government in terms of understanding which sectors need to be covered by a new agreement there is an issue over securing the right number of skilled individuals required to pull off a wide range of trade deals within a short time frame. Undertaking a broad suite of trade negotiations requires a significant number of qualified and experienced individuals.
We believe that we can take advantage of the government’s lack of resources and that we can help your business by making representations to the appropriate parts of government, trade associations and other pressure groups in order to explain what results you need to see from the BREXIT negotiations. We can even make suggestions for specific provisions that your industry sector needs to see.
We can advise on the consequences of BREXIT on your particular business and on ways in which adverse effects can be mitigated. This can range from taking advantage of whatever the new regimes offer to exploring the establishment of new markets with countries where the conditions are more favourable. One possible solution could be the formation of a joint venture with a business within the EU which could reduce or eliminate the effect of tariffs and quotas.
But, if you intend to continue trading with the EU, you will still be subject to the regulations affecting product types and standards. We can guide you through this labyrinth.
As an importer from the EU, you may in fact benefit from BREXIT as long as the government does not impose “tit for tat” limitations on the provision of goods and services from within the EU. Here again, we can represent your interests by making representations and we can also advise you on how best take advantage of the new regimes.
