On 31 January 2020 Brexit is official, the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU) and is no longer part of the EU customs union and internal market. There is now a transitional period until 31 December 2020, during which all EU rules and laws will remain in force for the UK. Until that date, virtually nothing will change for citizens and businesses in the EU and the UK.
During the transition period, the EU and the UK will need to reach new mutual agreements on their future relationship. The transitional period could be extended once for up to two years until 31 December 2022. The UK and the EU had to agree to this before 1 July 2020, which did not happen as the UK stated that it would not seek an extension. For now, the transition period is set to end on 31 December 2020.
What is now important in the negotiations between the EU and the UK are the agreements on future EU-UK trade, which are expected to be laid down in a trade agreement. If it is not possible to reach an agreement on the new relationship, a “no-deal” Brexit will be the reality after the transition period. In both cases, however, the consequences for trade between the EU and the UK will be significant. Controls and administrative actions at the UK-EU border will be (re)introduced, but the consequences will go far beyond customs, excise and VAT. In particular, there will be a significant impact on non-fiscal matters, such as food safety, REACH (for the chemical industry), export controls and sanctions.
In our whitepaper we discuss the impact of Brexit on EU-UK trade, with special focus on customs and trade aspects as well as the above-mentioned non-fiscal themes.
Kneppelhout understands that you have questions about the consequences of the Brexit for your company and business operations. There are customs-related questions such as how much import duty you will need to pay on your products when imported into the UK and EU, which certificates you will require, but also questions about contractual obligations, insurance, permits, food labelling, REACH, etc. These and several other questions are currently occupying many companies.
More information
Kneppelhout has a Brexit helpdesk with specialists in various relevant areas of law who oversee your legal playing field. Please contact our experts to answer your questions.
- Tim Hesselink (Customs, Trade, Export Controls & Sanctions)
- Marc Padberg (Trade, Industry & Logistics and Insurance)
- Gert-Jan de Jager (Food & Agri, Administrative Law)
- Evert-Karel Ditvoorst (Corporate Law, Contracts & Liability)
- Job Bezemer (Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate disputes)
