News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Friday, February 26, 2021
The door remains open to possible extensions of the various ‘grace periods’ facilitating’ post-Brexit movements of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland – but only if the UK shows itself to be more serious about fulfilling its own commitments under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
An overview of developments in EU trade this week by Chris Horseman and Iana Dreyer.
This has been a very odd week, strangely busy with little actually happening in terms of decisions. The EU is preparing the ground for many further developments. Some more on this below.
The EU’s vice-president Maroŝ Šefčovič will travel to London next week for talks with the UK government to discuss six key demands London made on the implementation of the Withrawal Agreement’s Northern Ireland Protocol that would involve extending key deadlines for trade facilitations relating to Northern Ireland. The UK government …
A temporary crisis last week exposed the reality that Northern Ireland has a unique place in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the World Trade Organization, one which requires care and attention.
This article was updated on 30 January. The European Commission released a regulation submitting exports of vaccines covered by the European Union’s advanced purchase programme to an export license. The move comes days after Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced a ‘transparency’ mechanism for such exports as a row …
An overview of key developments Businesses struggle to adapt to ‘new normal’ outside EU single market Pressure is continuing to pile up on the UK government as the costs of the non-tariff barriers created by Brexit become ever more evident. Agricultural and fisheries products have been worst hit, with new …
Steel manufacturers in Northern Ireland have become the latest group of businesses to make an unpleasant discovery about the practical outworkings of the United Kingdom’s new status outside of the European Union’s single market and customs union. Importers of steel into Northern Ireland from the EU are now potentially liable …
UK gets tougher on trade with Xinjiang region as China concerns mount British traders are to face internal sanctions if they trade with businesses connected with the Xinjiang region of China, where there is growing concern over the oppression of the Uyghur minority by the Beijing government. Businesses found to …
Developments on the UK trade policy front in its first week after the end of the Transition Period: Northern Ireland, hiccups in the Ghana EPA roll-over, food standards and UK trade legislation as well as personnel changes at the Department for International Trade.
