The position papers outlining the UK’s negotiating approach to
goods on the market and to confidentiality and access to official
documents have been published today ahead of the third round of
negotiations.
The documents make the case for why it is in the interests of
both the EU and the UK that our exit is as smooth and orderly as
possible for UK and European businesses and consumers.
The EU exports goods worth €314 billion (around £257 billion) to
the UK, more than to Brazil, Russia, India and China combined,
which is why it is in no-one’s interest to see disruption and
uncertainty.
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union said:
These papers will help give businesses and consumers certainty
and confidence in the UK’s status as an economic powerhouse
after we have left the EU.
They also show that as we enter the third round of
negotiations, it is clear that our separation from the EU and
future relationship are inextricably linked.
We have already begun to set out what we would like to see from
a future relationship on issues such as customs and are ready
to begin a formal dialogue on this and other issues.
The UK has been clear that exporters and businesses need to be
able to plan ahead with certainty which is why we want to seek an
agreement with the EU which allows the freest and most
frictionless trade possible in goods and services.
The UK enters these discussions with this in mind, and the
proposals set out in this paper are designed to ensure the
millions of consumers and businesses across Europe have the
certainty they have asked for.
The papers lay out the following UK positions:
Goods on the market
Our ambition is to seek an agreement with the EU which allows the
freest and most frictionless trade possible in goods and
services, to the benefit of all. The paper outlines four key
principles for ensuring a smooth and orderly withdrawal from the
EU in regard to the availability of goods.
- Firstly, we want to ensure that goods which are placed on the
market before exit day can continue to be sold in the UK and EU,
without any additional requirements or restrictions.
- Secondly, we want to avoid unnecessary duplication of
compliance activities that have been undertaken by businesses
prior to exit. This means that where products have gone through
an authorisation process prior to exit, for example a type
approval for a car, this approval should remain valid in both
markets after exit.
- Thirdly, we are clear that patient safety and consumer
protection in the EU27 and UK are paramount, which means that any
agreement will need to facilitate the continued oversight of
products to ensure the necessary action can be taken for
non-compliant or unsafe goods.
- Finally, the provision of goods and services is increasingly
interconnected. Services are essential for production of goods,
for their sale, distribution and delivery, and for their
operation and repair. Where goods are supplied with services, we
believe there should be no restriction to the provision of these
services.
These four principles demonstrate that the UK is getting on with
the job of negotiating. Taken together, they would prevent
bureaucracy and unnecessary duplication of effort by business, or
restricted supply of certain products to consumers, which might
otherwise occur. But our position remains that the best way to
address these risks is through discussions on a deep and special
future partnership which enables our close trading relationship
to continue to flourish.
The link to this paper can be found here.
Confidentiality and access to documents
This paper shows that we are getting on with negotiations by
directly responding to the EU’s paper on “Issues relating to the
Functioning of the Union Institutions, Agencies and Bodies.”
As the UK leaves the EU, it will be important to establish a
framework for the continued respect of obligations of
confidentiality and the protection of official documents
exchanged while it was a Member State. The UK considers that any
agreement on confidentiality and access to official documents
produced or exchanged while the UK was a Member State should be
reciprocal, affording an equivalent level of protection to the UK
and the EU after the UK’s withdrawal. The necessary protections
concerning both UK and EU data should be on equivalent terms to
those laid out in existing regimes.
The link to this paper can be found here.
