What about the new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and UK? Doesn’t that mean we don’t have to pay customs charges now?

No, because the UK still left the single market and customs union. It just means there will not be punitive tarrifs applied.

The FTA is not a ‘default’ option that all UK businesses can instantly take advantage of. It represents a new mountain of paperwork for UK businesses to begin to navigate. We will investigate the fine print of that deal over the next 6-12 months to discover where we and our customers might benefit from it.

It is worth noting however that the majority of the duty rates on electronic components are relatively low, between zero and 3% typically so the benefits of the FTA to Thonk products is debatable. Often the customs clearance charge will be higher than the actual duty.