Secretary of State for Exiting the EU , Chancellor , and Business Secretary
have written to businesses
setting out the UK’s ambitions for an implementation period
following Brexit.
In the joint letter, the three Cabinet Ministers outline the
Government’s commitment to providing businesses with the
certainty and clarity they need to plan ahead.
The letter is below.
Dear business leaders,
The Government is determined to support businesses and the
economy, and is committed to implementing the Government’s
Industrial Strategy, building a Britain fit for the future. As
this new year gets underway, we are also conscious that many
businesses are examining the implications of our withdrawal from
the EU for themselves and their supply chains. Businesses have
been clear that they need time to adjust to the terms of our new
relationship with the EU - and are therefore following closely
negotiations on the Government’s proposal for a time-limited
implementation period.
The purpose of such a period is to give people, businesses, and
public services in the UK and across the EU the time they need to
put in place the new arrangements that will be required to adjust
to our future partnership. This is why, during the implementation
period, we are clear that the UK’s and the EU’s access to one
another’s markets should continue on current terms, meaning there
will only be one set of changes at the end of the implementation
period, as we move into our future partnership. The period’s
duration will be strictly time-limited, and should be determined
simply by how long it will take to make these changes – as the
Prime Minister has previously set out, this will be around two
years.
We know this proposal has been warmly welcomed by businesses up
and down the country, and in the EU, promising the certainty and
clarity needed to plan ahead. We are therefore pleased that at
the December European Council, EU leaders endorsed this proposal,
and agreed guidelines that will enable our teams to discuss and
confirm at pace the detailed arrangements, giving them legal form
in the Withdrawal Agreement.
As we enter those discussions, we believe it is important to
emphasise three key aspects of the implementation period.
First, in order that our terms of trade remain unchanged during
the implementation period, it will need to be based on the
existing structure of EU rules and regulations. And for these
common rules and regulations to work effectively, they will need
to remain common to both parties. We will therefore maintain
continuity with rules during the period. Of course this will
require both parties to continue to act in good faith, reflecting
the spirit of our future partnership – but it is the right way to
give businesses certainty, and avoid unnecessary disruption.
Second, no business need worry that it will fall outside the
scope of this period. Our intention is to mimic the breadth of
our current arrangements, from goods to agriculture to financial
services, meaning that every business, small or large, will be
able to go on trading with the EU as it does today until it’s
time to make any changes necessary for the future partnership. We
also plan to work together with the EU to ensure the UK remains
covered by those international agreements, including free trade
agreements, to which it is currently a party by virtue of our EU
membership.
Third, EU citizens will continue to be able to come and live and
work in the UK, with no new barriers to taking up employment. As
the Prime Minister has made clear, we will introduce a
registration scheme for new arrivals in preparation for our
future immigration system, but this will not place any new
burdens on businesses during the implementation period.
These three elements are all about delivering the core purpose of
the implementation period - ensuring people and businesses have
sufficient time to prepare for the future by maintaining
continuity in our trading arrangements with the EU immediately
after our withdrawal. There is clearly more for members of our
negotiating team to discuss with their EU counterparts over the
next few weeks, but we believe our proposal is closely aligned
with the guidelines adopted by EU leaders in December. Both we
and the EU therefore want to agree the detail of the
implementation period by the end of March, making good as swiftly
as possible on our promise of certainty. We will then finalise
the text of the Withdrawal Agreement to give the implementation
period legal form, at the same time as we build out with the EU
the framework for our deep and special future partnership.
RT HON GREG CLARK MP SECRETARY OF STATE FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY AND
INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
RT HON PHILIP HAMMOND MP CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER
RT HON DAVID DAVIS MP SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXITING THE EUROPEAN
UNION
