TradeLane

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. 

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.  

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.

This week we feature guest author Alan Owen, Director of Customs Services, Europe at Expeditors, Tradewin's parent company. 

Speculation continues as to “what sort of a deal” will be struck between the European Union and the United Kingdom with regards to trade in goods and customs matters in a post Brexit environment.

Recent advances in the negotiation process have allowed both the United Kingdom and the European Union to move to the next phase, which will be to start discussing a future trading and customs environment and the implementation of the transitional period.

On March 29^th, UK Prime Minister Theresa May sent a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and providing formal notification that the UK will leave the European Union. The formal countdown clock is underway, and the UK and EU have two years to finalize the terms of the UK’s departure.

In reading the letter, there are a few statements that provide guidance on the potential future for customs legislation, as well as the trading relationship between the UK and EU.