Published yesterday, the papers set out what HM Government wants the future customs relationships with the EU and other countries to look like.
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-our-future-uk-trade-policy/preparing-for-our-future-uk-trade-policy
The papers say what was widely expected to be their position – using current facilitation procedures, origin rules and, most probably, mirroring current EU tariffs. That last will probably cause some consternation, particularly in the agricultural sector, where some tariffs are sky-high. The papers indicate that a goal is for these changes – to the law, to logistics requirements and IT systems – should only happen once. However, the papers also indicate that after a transitional period, there may be some divergence to suit the needs of UK consumers and businesses.
A few headlines:
- UK Government will look to waive the requirements to submit simplified declarations at borders
- Remain a member of the Common Transit Convention (CTC) which simplifies border requirements for goods in transit
- Reduction in pressure and delay by negotiating mutual recognition of Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs), or Trusted Trader, schemes, which allow much greater simplification of border procedures – particularly useful for larger businesses involved in cross-border trade with the EU
- Bilateral implementation of pre-arrival notifications allowing smooth traffic flows from UK ports
- Streamlining processes giving access and authorisations to customs reliefs and duty suspensions
There are several more proposals in the paper, but one idea that is now official policy is that of self assessment. This would allow EU trade (and presumably by extension, international trade) to be accounted for on a periodic basis by the trader, akin to a VAT return process. This idea has been floated for several months and, if adopted, would remove many headaches and costs of formal entry requirements, particularly for regular importers and exporters.
One significant issue is the “no deal scenario” (the contingency scenario). The paper envisages, in that event, a lot of work being required for origin, tariffs, quotas and other arrangements and effectively means developing a WTO compliant “ground up” customs system operative from day one.
There is plenty more in the papers, some of which is aspirational and requires agreement with the EU. This is an important area which international traders, particularly those involved in EU trade, will need to keep a very close eye on in the near future.
