Also in the news...

Import firewood into England, Scotland or Wales

Find out how to import firewood, such as logs and kindling, into England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain).

How to check if you can delay customs payments and declarations

If you’re a business that currently buys goods from or sells goods to countries outside the UK, or are planning to trade with Europe from January 2021, HMRC’s new tool can help you identify ways you might be able to make the customs process easier for cheaper for your business. This short video shows you how to use the tool.

How can a customs intermediary or agent help me?

If you’re a UK business thinking about moving goods into or out of the UK , this video is here to help you understand how customs intermediaries or agents can help you. For more information have a look at the guidance available on gov.uk.

What are commodity codes?

If you're buying or selling goods abroad, you need to work out the amount of duty or VAT you owe. This short video tells you how to find out the ‘commodity code’ classification for your goods, using our Trade Tariff tool. Find out more on GOV.UK

What are controlled goods?

You’ll need a licence to import or export certain types of controlled goods. You may also need to pay extra duty in the UK. Unsure if this applies to your goods? This short video explains more about the types of goods that are classed as controlled. Find out more on GOV.UK

> Ask me a question

Why the Dutch speak english so well

Back to News

The Dutch speak english very well. Linguistically Dutch is one of the languages which have a close relation with English. The two languages have much in common looking at both grammar and vocabulary. Also quite a percentage of media is in English. Doing business in Holland can therefore be done in the english language. Read more in this blog about why the Dutch speak english so well

English products in Holland are common

Because the Dutch speaking community is relatively small, they learn to speak English from an early age. Lots of English and American tv and movies, conveniently subtitled. Lots of English/American music. Looking at Germany or France, they generate a lot more culture in their own language. Also the Germans dub their foreign tv programs instead of using subtitles. It is also easy for English spoken and written products to find their way into the Netherlands, because the Dutch are fine with it.

Looking at the above, in Holland everyone grows up with the “correct” pronunciations and therefore have less trouble pronouncing English words.

English is used in elementary school

Not long ago a bill was proposed to let schools teach 15% of theirclasses in anotherlanguage.As Holland has a very open economy, the Dutch earn their money often in foreign countries. You meet many people that speak foreign languages, no matter where you work. Learning foreign languages is very important forstudents, since in the end it can improve the competitive position of the Netherlands in the world economy.

Business meetings in English

The Dutch are anything but isolated, they have a lot of neighbours in Europe. They have trading with these neighbours for many centuries and they need to speak other languages in order to facilitate the trade.Business meetings are in English if there is even one person in the meeting who cannot speak Dutch. There are courses in Dutch universities which are conducted in English just to make them more accessible to foreign students who aren’t fluent in Dutch and don’t want to be at a disadvantage.