The post below was first published on our Brexit blog There was time when trade negotiations were just about reducing tariffs and quotas. That was the purpose of GATT negotiating rounds and any tariff concession obtained by one contracting party had to be applied to all countries without discrimination. There were exceptions, in particular for … Read more

This post was first published on our Brexit Notes blog. Today, the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) published its proposed approach to the future relationship negotiations with the USA. It is anticipated that the negotiations between the two countries will begin this month. The talks will be led from the UK side by Crawford … Read more

This post was first published on our Brexit Notes blog. Today, the UK Government presented to Parliament its mandate for the negotiations on the future relationship with the EU. The mandate states that the parameters for the future relationship are set out in the UK/EU Political Declaration agreed in October 2019 and that a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (“CFTA”) should be at … Read more

This post was first published on our Brexit Notes blog.  Today, the European Council authorised the opening of the negotiations and negotiating directives on the future relationship with the UK. The latter sets out the mandate for the future negotiations for the European Commission in its role as Union negotiator and covers all areas to be covered in the … Read more

The post below was first published on our Brexit blog Today updated sections of our Brexit Legal Guide were released. Below is a message from our Chair and Senior Partner James Palmer which accompanied the updated sections. ——————— Dear clients and professional colleagues, The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020 and is … Read more

The post below was first published on our Brexit blog With the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (the Withdrawal Agreement Act) now formally on the statute books, Britain is set to exit the EU at the end of January. Exit day, however, only marks the next step in the Brexit process. The UK will … Read more

The post below was first published on our Brexit blog The European Commission has started a debate with the Member States on the shape of the Union’s future trade relationship with the UK and has made its views public in a series of slides. The UK Government has so far not set out its position … Read more

The post below was first published on our Brexit blog Brexit now seems inevitable on 31 January 2020 but that is only the beginning of the process of defining a new relationship between the UK and the EU. Serious negotiations on that relationship will only start thereafter, hopefully as soon as February. In this View … Read more