Navigating Brexit uncertainty together

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and the UK came into force provisionally on Jan 1, 2021 after all 27 member states approved the Agreement and its provisional application. The UK exited the Customs Union and any EU trade agreements that the UK had managed to roll over came into effect. For countries where a trade deal had not been rolled over, the UK Global Tariff came into effect.

The European Parliament approved the Agreement, enabling its full implementation starting May 1, 2021. All products of animal origin (POAO) were required to produce pre-notification and health documentation and physical checks were conducted at the destination. The grace period for initial registrations under REACH for UK companies importing chemicals expired.

On 30 June, registrations for the EU Settlement Scheme were closed.

On 1 July, Phase 3 of the UK Border Operating Model was rolled into action. Customs declaration has become permanent and full declarations are mandatory at the point of importation. Review of tariffs with additional paperwork and checks are in progress.

The UK’s grace period on CE marking will end, meaning that firms must have switched to UKCA compliance by this date (GB products only).

While the UK and the EU rules and testing processes will remain broadly the same for regulated goods in the immediate years after no deal, in the future divergence will occur. This will increase the barriers of doing trade across borders. Firms will have to cope with the new and different requirements being introduced unevenly across the UK and the EU.