Even before the pandemic has passed, talk has turned to the rest of the year and how our separation from the EU will look. Fast approaches the cut off for an extension to the transition period and, with Boris dead set against prolonging the exit, we are likely to be faced with a time-pressured basic trade agreement or a No Deal exit. (Does anyone else feel like we’ve been here before?)
Huge focus over the coming months will be placed on the creation of a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the EU or alternatively how life with a No-Deal Brexit will look.
The Government, in advance of the 31st December 2020, have released what will undoubtedly be the first draft of a UK Global Tariff, setting out indicative rates of duty that will be levied on all goods entering the county from the 1st Jan 2021.
While we expect this to be changed many times, if even adopted at all, there is currently not a single product line that has seen an increase in duty.
We’ll keep you updated on how we see the exit from the EU progressing via email updates and webinars when appropriate.
By way of summary, in 2019 the UK exported goods to the EU worth £170 billion (46% of our total exports) with £265 billion of goods flowing into the country (53% of the total amount imported) so, even without an economics degree (I’ve had to rely on a C at ‘A’ level) it’s plain to see the importance of creating a positive outcome for the economic stability in the UK.
