Parliament in the United Kingdom is currently debating approval of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) that outlines a potential future relationship between the United Kingdom and European Union after Brexit.
The UK has requested that the European Union extend the Brexit deadline to January 31, 2020, in order to properly scrutinize this bill. Additionally, the Prime Minister has called for a general election to occur in December, if an extension is granted.
Topics: Europe
A change in Prime Minister in the UK on July 24th has renewed focus on Brexit and its impacts across the Eurozone. Currently, the UK is set to leave the European Union (EU) on October 31st, with or without a deal. Given that the current withdrawal agreement between the EU and the UK has been voted down three times by the UK parliament, and due to the renewed political prioritization of no-deal planning by the current government, trade compliance professionals are building their Brexit plans with the assumption of no deal.
Topics: Europe, Free Trade Agreements, HS Classification
The presentation of the government’s budget before Parliament has always been an interesting affair. The perfunctory annual photo of the Chancellor of the Exchequer standing in front of Number 11 Downing Street with the red briefcase containing the Government’s budget for the year always seems to make a dull affair more interesting.
On July 12th, the UK government published a whitepaper specifying broadly their proposal for a post-Brexit relationship with the European Union. This much-anticipated document outlines the UK Government’s best-case scenario on customs and trade policy after the separation. The below details reflect the UK Government’s desired outcome, not the final agreement between the UK and EU.
Topics: Europe
At present, there seems to be a renewed interest in the venerable Winston Churchill in popular culture. Between John Lithgow’s portrayal in The Crown and Gary Oldman’s version in The Darkest Hour, we are presented with a reintroduction to some of Mr. Churchill’s more memorable quotes. One of my favourites is, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.”
Unfortunately, this quote does not accurately reflect customs duty adjustments based on retroactive changes in transfer pricing agreements.
Topics: Europe
