Canon hit by delays due to Brexit, issues shipping advisory

Canon is the latest manufacturer to suffer delayed shipping to the United Kingdom, as the fallout of Brexit continues to be felt throughout the camera industry.

The manufacturer has issued an advisory on the official Canon UK store, addressing the shipping delays to products across its entire range including the perennially popular Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS R6.

"Since 1st January 2021 and the changes to customs regulations in line with Brexit, we have faced some delays in shipping orders to the UK impacting orders placed from 28th December 2020," states the notice on the Canon UK store.

"We apologise for the inconvenience caused, and want to reassure you we are working hard to resolve this issue as soon as possible. Please bear with us during this time."

Canon joins companies such as Nikon – which last month suspended all orders for UK customers – who have been hit hard by the post-Brexit chaos caused by the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union.

Canon Brexit — Canon has posted an advisory on its official UK web store (Image credit: Canon)

If you're wondering what the Brexit disruption is all about, it's due to the haphazard handling of the UK's decision to leave the EU – the world's largest trading bloc – in 2016. After years of tortuous negotiations, the divorce was finalized and the UK officially left the EU on 31 December 2020.

However, due to the acrimonious dissolution of the UK's membership to the European single market, the divorce agreement was not finalized until the 11th hour. The result was that companies had mere days to create complex new systems and infrastructure for importing and exporting goods between the UK and Europe – creating massive trading turmoil.

Consequently there are now sizable shipping tariffs being imposed, as well as a huge backlog of goods moving into and out of the nation, resulting in huge delays to order fulfillment – or even non-delivery altogether, which has in some cases left supermarket shelves empty and threatens to destroy the British fishing industry.

With Brexit tensions currently extending to COVID vaccines and the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, it appears that trading troubles may continue for some time.

James has 22 years experience as a journalist, serving as editor of Digital Camera World for 6 of them. He started working in the photography industry in 2014, product testing and shooting ad campaigns for Olympus, as well as clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal. An Olympus / OM System, Canon and Hasselblad shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and he loves instant cameras, too.

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