As a UK business trading with one or more of the other 27 EU countries, how can you prepare for a no-deal scenario, which remains a possibility? Below are a few practical tips that may serve as an initial step towards a no-deal-Brexit preparation plan. If you already have a plan in place, you can use the 20 points below as a checklist to make sure you have everything covered.
These are just some of the issues to consider and is no more than an initial guide. Each business will have to assess the consequences of a no-deal Brexit to their specific activity and prepare a no-deal Brexit plan.
What if a Brexit deal is reached after all?
In such a case, there will be a transition period, which will probably run at least until the end of 2020, but which could be extended after that. The intention would be to reach an agreement on the future trade relations between the UK and the EU 27 during the transition period. The negotiations about the conditions of such a free-trade agreement have yet to start.
Failure to reach an EU-UK agreement will trigger the ‘backstop’, under which Northern Ireland will remain aligned with the EU single market, while the remainder of the UK will be coupled to Northern Ireland (hence also to the EU) via a customs union. This would avoid the creation of an EU external border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. In this scenario, customs formalities would still have to be fulfilled in goods transactions with the EU 27 (including Ireland), but no customs duties would be due.
Conclusion
Anyone who has regular transactions involving EU 27 suppliers or customers must put Brexit at the top of their list of priorities and prepare a concrete no-deal-Brexit plan.
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