TradeLane

I am often surprised when discussing export processes with Irish businesses how little is known about export controls, meaning the regimes and regulations that are in place controlling dual-use items by the Irish Authorities and the EU. Businesses who have been exporting for years and have strong compliance practices for customs procedures would respond with, “We don’t deal in military goods, so this doesn’t apply to us.” However, they don’t seem to have come across terms such as dual-use or sanctioned parties.

Since the Brexit referendum was held, the UK government has focused significant time and energy on establishing a negotiating position for the separation. The policy was outlined in an early February 2017 whitepaper entitled, “The United Kingdom’s Exit from and new partnership with the European Union.” While not delving into significant detail on the referendum’s impact on trade, nor the UK’s negotiating tactics, the policy document outlines the ultimate goals for the separation.

A lot has happened since the June 24^th referendum in the UK to leave the European Union. Surprisingly, there may be more uncertainty now than there was immediately following the vote three months ago.

We’ve since gotten a new Prime Minister, Theresa May, who has formed a government department to manage the negotiation process with the European Union - dubbed “The Three Brexiteers.” The principle architects for the Brexit negotiation are David Davis, the Secretary of State for Brexit; Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary; and Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary.

So, now that we have some clarity on who will be in charge of negotiating the terms of Britain’s exit from the European Union, we should know how the process will unfold and what impact this will have on UK, European, and global businesses, right?

I have come to quite enjoy the ‘Full English’ breakfast since moving to London last year. Packed with all the day’s calories and none of its nutrition, the full plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, beans, and tomato has become a weekend favourite.

My breakfast on June 24^th was a much more sensible choice of coffee and toast. However, it was made memorable by the Referendum results in Britain over whether or not we should stay in the European Union.

With all votes tallied, the United Kingdom had decided by referendum to leave the EU.

Does everyone remember Y2K?

The whole world was under the impression that, at the turn of midnight on December 31^st, 1999, all our computers would simply stop functioning and we would enter the equivalent of a cyber stone age. I remember vividly sitting on the couch, watching the TV as the ball dropped in Times Square, waiting to see if all the lights were going to go off at any minute.

Alas, the lights stayed on, the computers still worked, and we all moved forward.

EU traders had a similar feeling when May 1^st rolled around and the Union Customs Code (UCC) - a union-wide re-write of the customs regulations within Europe - became effective.