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The 1,246-page Economic and Trade Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom was signed yesterday and sets the framework for their relationship as of tomorrow, after Brexit.
Goods
The agreement guarantees duty-free exchanges, customs controls and quotas for “all goods that meet the rules of origin.” Unprecedented for a trade deal.
The agreement avoids the breakdown of the productive chains and avoids the imposition of tariffs of 10% on the automotive sector, 25% on processed products based on catches and 50% on beef, dairy, poultry and pigs. , lamb, cereals, sugar and a range of processed food products.
However, companies must present customs documents in both directions and the products must go through sanitary controls.
Competition
The UK and the European Union are committed to a level playing field. London undertakes not to manually review all European social, labor, environmental and climate laws and regulations in force on December 31, 2020 and adapt to their evolution.
The agreement provides for the possibility of applying unilateral balancing measures, in particular through the imposition of duties, in the event of major discrepancies that may lead to an increase in production costs and consequently a disadvantage for competition.
Various
If the United Kingdom or the European Union do not comply with the terms of the agreement, a dispute resolution mechanism will take care of resolving them, as is the case with most trade agreements.
Due to opposition from London, the Court of Justice of the European Union will not intervene in the process. A “Joint Council” will oversee the interpretation and application of the terms of the agreement.
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Fishing
The agreement establishes that European fishermen will have access to British waters for a transitional period of five and a half years, until 2026. During this period, the European Union must progressively reduce the value of its catches in British waters by 25%, which corresponds to 650 million euros per year.
If the UK restricts EU access or catches, the Union can take retaliatory action by imposing tariffs on British fish and other goods, including ending much of the trade deal and keeping the playing field.
Transport
The agreement guarantees a permanent air, road, rail and sea connection, but in a much less privileged way than if the UK had remained in the single market.
“The agreement guarantees equal competition between transport operators so as not to endanger the rights of passengers, workers and transport safety.”
Programs
The UK will continue to participate in certain European Union programs for the period 2021-2027, such as the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program, provided that it contributes to the European budget. But the UK will be left out of the Erasmus student exchange program.
Judicial cooperation
The agreement introduces a new framework for police and judicial cooperation, “especially in the fight against cross-border crime and terrorism.”
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The two parties will continue to share DNA, fingerprint and passenger information and work together through Europol.
This cooperation could end if the UK withdraws from the European Convention on Human Rights or abandons its implementation at the national level.
Financial services
As of January 1, the United Kingdom will no longer benefit from the principles of free movement of persons, freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment.
British institutions will lose the automatic right to offer services throughout the European Union and will have to move to the EU to continue operating.
They will no longer participate in the “country of origin” approach or the “passport” system, according to which licenses issued by a Member State under EU rules allow access to the entire EU single market .
Copyright
All protected geographical names currently existing in the Union will continue to be protected in the UK as well, but Brussels has not obtained guarantees for future protected geographical names.
Data Protection
The United Kingdom will remain within the regulatory framework of the European Union for the transfer of data for a maximum of six months, provided that it is necessary for Brussels to determine whether the data protection regime proposed by London complies with the European framework.
Agreement monitoring
The agreement will be supervised by a joint committee of both parties. The relationship between the Union and the United Kingdom could change every five years. Unilateral withdrawal from the agreement must be notified one year in advance.
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