Trade And Brexit

On 29 March 2017 the UK's Article 50 Notice was delivered to the European Council in Brussels, triggering the formal process for the UK's exit from the EU. The current position of the UK Government is that the UK will not remain part of either the EU's Single Market or its Customs Union. That outcome would have significant implications for UK trade with both the EU and third countries.

The Article 50 Notice stated that negotiations around Brexit and the future UK-EU relationship (in particular the trading relationship) should be run in tandem, but the EU wants a phased approach that deals with the immediate terms of exit first. It is hard to see how either agreement could be finalised without a clear view of what the other will look like, at least in principle. The future trade relationship will be an issue of particular importance for UK businesses that export to the EU and/or have EU products in their supply chains.