UK Trade with EU: Rules of Origin

(asked on 30th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cumulation provisions in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the profitability of UK exporters using components made in third countries.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 15th January 2021

Departments across Government, including BEIS and Defra, have been consulting and working with industry stakeholders to develop the UK’s approach to rules of origin in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement includes modern and appropriate rules of origin which support tariff-free trade with the EU across all sectors. This includes full bilateral cumulation with the EU, which is critical to protecting highly integrated supply chains, as well as sectoral rules which reflect key UK interests in sectors such as automotive, aluminium and sugar.

The Agreement does not provide for cumulation with third countries, but the rules of origin will allow British manufacturers to use a significant level of input from abroad in British products, such as sugar in confectionery and batteries in electric vehicles.

In addition, to support all industries, the UK and EU have agreed an administrative simplification. Until 31 December 2021, for both goods imported from the EU to the UK and vice-versa, traders do not need supplier declarations from business suppliers to be in place at the time the goods are exported. This effectively allows an exporter to declare the origin of their goods without needing underlying documentation in place to prove it, although traders will need to be able to provide supplier declarations for the period covered by the easement if asked by customs authorities after 31 December 2021

The Government continues to work closely with businesses to help them to adapt to new trading requirements.

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