The New Relationship Status: UK and EU

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union occurred in January 2020, and thus, discussions began. Britain began a transition period last year, where the details of the split were discussed.

Now that Brexit has finalized, the deals agreed upon between the two parties will set off what has been called “the biggest overnight change in modern commercial relations”.

A most fundamental issue in the debates has been the trade deal agreements since the EU is one of the UK’s largest and closest trading partner.

The EU has long fought for a free trade agreement. This mainly aims to encourage the trade of goods between the two by making it cheaper. This is done by reducing tariffs, that is taxes imposed on the goods and services that are traded. The EU also pushes for removing quotas, which means there would be no limit to the number of services/goods exchanged. Furthermore, by agreeing to the same rules and restrictions, the two parties could benefit more freely from each other’s exports, without the need to check or refuse the products. For example, with new rules, due to the EU’s strict laws against animal testing, some products from the UK may be untradable.

Last month, the EU finally reached an agreement in the terms of cooperation between the two. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen stated: “It was worth fighting for this deal because we now have a fair and balanced agreement with the UK, which will protect our European interests, ensure fair competition, and provide much-needed predictability for our fishing communities. Finally, we can leave Brexit behind us and look to the future. Europe is now moving on.”

According to the European Commission, the draft of Trade and Cooperation Agreement consists of three main pillars: a Free Trade Agreement – agrees on trade in goods and services, “investment, competition, State aid, tax transparency, air and road transport, energy and sustainability, fisheries, data protection, and social security coordination.”, – a new partnership for the citizens' security – “new framework for law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal and civil law matters”, – and a horizontal agreement on Governance – establishes a Joint Partnership Council, who will make sure the Agreement is properly applied and interpreted, and in which all arising issues will be discussed. (“EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement”, 2021)

We are still a long way to go before the whole matter is settled. However, it is clear that both, the UK and the EU will soon have this issue resolved, in the hope of great benefit for both parties.

Works Cited:

Edgington, Tom. “Brexit: What Trade Deals Has the UK Done so Far?” BBC News, BBC, 31 Dec. 2020, www.bbc.com/news/uk-47213842.

“EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Protecting European Interests, Ensuring Fair Competition, and Continued Cooperation in Areas of Mutual Interest.” European Commission - European Commission, ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2531.

Mueller, Benjamin. “What Is Brexit? And What Happens Next?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Dec. 2020, www.nytimes.com/article/brexit-uk-eu-explained.html.