EU Committee seeks evidence for new inquiry on EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

20 Jan 2021 01:19 PM

The House of Lords EU Goods Sub-Committee today invites written contributions to its ongoing inquiry into Future UK⁠–EU relations: trade in goods.

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This inquiry will examine the impact of the provisions set out in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and what a UK-EU relationship could and should look like going forward.

Inquiry background

The House of Lords EU Goods Sub-Committee is launching an inquiry into future UK–EU relations and the implications of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on trade in goods. The Committee’s inquiry will examine the TCA’s provision for trade in goods.

It is interested in the provisions of the Agreement and its implications now and in the future. Areas of particular interest are: non-tariff barriers (rules of origin and technical barriers to trade), customs arrangements, transport and level playing field provisions.

The areas of the TCA that relate to the EU Goods Sub-Committee’s remit include: non-tariff barriers to trade; customs and trade facilitation; transport; the ‘level playing field’; and public procurement.

The Committee is interested in your views on the TCA and what it will mean for you or your business or policy area.

Questions

The Committee’s questions include:

  1. As opposed to other possible outcomes, what does the presence of an EU-UK free trade agreement mean for trade in goods?
  2. What is your assessment of the relevant provisions in the TCA and their impact on your business or policy area?
  3. What do those provisions achieve?
  4. What, if any, challenges arise because of those provisions? How should these challenges be addressed and what support is needed, if any?
  5. What do you identify as the most important issues that the TCA leaves for further negotiation? What would represent a best-case resolution of these issues?
  6. Within the parameters of the TCA, what should the UK seek to accomplish with the EU in relation to your industry or policy area in the short, medium and long term?

The Committee invites interested individuals and organisations to submit written evidence to this inquiry by 5 February 2021.

Further information