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Brexit - ajankohtaista 

Ajankohtaista tietoa Brexitistä

Väkevien alkoholijuomien eurooppalainen edunvalvontajärjestö spiritsEUROPE seuraa tiivisti Brexit-neuvotteluja Brysselistä käsin. 

Alla spiritsEUROPEn tilannekatsaus 18.12.2020

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It is nonetheless worth noting that:

  • Customs formalities and regulatory changes will apply on 1 January, whether a deal can be reached and ratified or not.

  • Most spirits will not incur any tariffs even without an agreement

  • Border delays and disruptions are to be expected regardless of whether an agreement can be found or not.

  • Existing GIs will remain protected in the UK, with or without an agreement, in virtue of the withdrawal agreement.

 

I strongly encourage you to review existing guidance notes, and in particular:

 

Please note the following update from DIT in relation to commodity codes & tariffs:

DIT has formally confirmed the tariff for 1 Jan 2021 and the commodity codes that will be applied, and has updated the ‘look up’ tool on gov.uk. The same commodity codes will be used for trade between GB and the EU/ROW and GB/NI and NI/ROW: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/exporting-and-importing-businesses-prepare-for-1-january-2021  

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I would also like to attract your attention to an additional guidance document issued by the European Commission on Guidance on the Use of GB and XI codes (Annex B) - Geonomenclature codes for the implementation of the IE/NI Protocol, which can be found here.

 

Last but not least, please encourage your members / colleagues to pay due attention to the Incoterms in their contracts, as these set out who is in charge of import/export clearance in the chain. This is particularly important if you or your members are buying Ex Works (EXW) or selling under Delivered Duty Paid (DDP).

 

Agreement regarding implementation of the withdrawal agreement, including the Protocol

Yesterday, the EU-UK Joint Committee met virtually to endorse all formal decisions and other practical solutions related to the implementation of the withdrawal agreement as of 1 January 2021. It follows an agreement in principle reached by the Joint committee co-chairs on 8 December. Four of these decisions relate to the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland – including on goods “not at risk” of entering the EU’s single market. You can find the press statement here and the detailed Q&A, which goes into more details as to what was agreed here.

 

The EU and UK have also agreed a number of unilateral declarations to provide time-limited solutions in a number of areas (for example relating to the import of meat products or medicines, amongst other things). These temporary solutions are subject to strict conditions to ensure that all relevant stakeholders will be in a position to fully comply with the Protocol in the course of 2021. Sadly, it doesn’t look as if the issue of labelling for products placed on the market in Northern Ireland is part of these measures, but I’m trying to clarify this with the Commission. Upon our request, FoodDrinkEurope had made a similar request to the Commission (please see attachment).

 

You might also find the official statement of the UK Government on what was agreed of interest, together with the list of draft agreements, which appear to have been adopted as is.

 

EU Contingency measures

The EU has adopted a series of contingency measures on 10 December, primarily focused on transport. The one particularly worth noting related to road transport and will allow UK road operators to operate across the border to the EU (particularly relevant for NI-RoI-NI movements and UK-EU26-UK through accompanied transport). You can find more information about these measures here and here.  

 

Future UK border – 2025 vision

Yesterday, the UK Government published its 2025 UK Border Strategy, which is available here. The strategy sets out how the UK intends to adapt its border and border processes over time, in partnership with stakeholders. It is worth noting however that these are long term ideas, and therefore not implementable by the end of the transition period.

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