Industry News: Government’s preparations for leaving the EU

20th March 19

The Government has issued updates relating to preparations for leaving the EU…

1.Partnership pack

The partnership pack has been developed to help businesses contingency planning and think about how they will need to adapt their business to comply with new systems, processes and controls; assess the impact of the increased demand for customs declarations on their business; consider whether they need to recruit and train additional staff and stay up-to-date with these changes.

You can see the full details at the following link:   https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/partnership-pack-preparing-for-a-no-deal-eu-exit/how-to-find-what-you-need-in-this-partnership-pack

2. The automotive sector and preparing for EU Exit

We have previously shared a link to the webpage which contains guidance aimed at supporting businesses preparing for a potential No Deal EU Exit, which specifically focuses on the automotive industry. We would welcome feedback from you or your members on the information contained on this page – please send any feedback to Automotive.unit@beis.gov.uk . This resource is accessible at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-automotive-sector-and-preparing-for-eu-exit

3. Type approval guidance

The Department For Transport’s Technical Notice on vehicle type approval, initially published on the 13^th of September 2018, has been updated and a new version published here. The new notice also contains links to further published guidance, including the VCA’s guidance on applying for the UK type approval scheme.

4. Ministerial Statement on EU FTAs

The Department for International Trade last week published a Written Ministerial Statement and new guidance on the replication of EU Free Trade Agreements. Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. However, it is only responsible for Government to prepare for all eventualities. The Department for International Trade is continuing to work with countries to transition individual trade agreements in the event of no deal to avoid disruption for businesses. 

Several agreements, most notably Switzerland and Chile, have already been signed and in several others cases negotiations are at an advanced stage. The statement clarifies that not all agreements will be in place by 29 March, notably Turkey and Japan. Regarding the progress of specific negotiations, gov.uk guidance will now be continuously updated to reflect which agreements have been signed. We shall continue to keep you informed as the situation develops.

If there is a deal with the EU before we leave, the UK can continue to trade with the whole world on the same terms as we do today for the duration of the implementation period.

Automotive Unit

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial StrategyAutomotive.unit@beis.gov.uk