Preparing for Brexit with DLA Piper’s Trade Truths series

In times of widespread change, clarity is essential.

DLA Piper’s Trade Truths series cuts through the political noise and technical jargon to explain in simple terms how international trade issues will affect your commercial interests, and provide practical advice on how to navigate them.

On 1 January 2021, subject to the terms of any negotiated trade deal, the UK and the EU’s trade policies will diverge for the first time in over forty years. In London, a new Department of International Trade has been created to breathe life into “global Britain”, a policy which has yet to be fully defined. In Brussels, the European Commission is torn between its traditional commitment to open trade and a renewed protectionist push within its ranks.

Key issues that your business may need to consider include:

• Trading on WTO or most favoured nation (MFN) terms and what it means.
• If your supply chains benefit from EU Free Trade Agreements, what will happen to those trade benefits once the UK leaves the EU – which ones will remain, and which will be replaced or no longer be relevant at all?
• Changes to the trade remedies process(es) and the mechanisms for initiating a dumping, subsidy and safeguarding investigation in the UK.
• Changes to the state aid regime and foreign direct investment screening controls and their effect.
• The implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which puts in place a trade border within the UK, and the impact of other changes to customs procedures and rules of origin.
• The absence of a strong British voice in Brussels and UK business interests becoming increasingly side-lined in the EU.

In the countdown until the transition period expires, it is important that businesses continue to consider the wider impact of Brexit on their commercial objectives. DLA Piper’s team of lawyers, trade economists and government affairs professionals are here to support you in preparation for a range of new legal, regulatory and policy changes.

This week’s edition, Continuity or Change? Procurement Rules after Brexit, provides a summary of what the GPA is, how this differs from existing procurement rules derived from EU membership, and what effect Brexit will have on UK businesses and their ability to continue bidding for public sector contracts around the world.

Please find all other articles in the series so far on our website here. To subscribe to the series and be informed when new articles are published, please complete this form.

About DLA Piper

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Contact

Emma Beswick, Regional Marketing & Business Development Coordinator, DLA Piper, +44 (0)161 235 4056, [email protected]