WT/REG4 47/M/1  
 
6 April 2023 
(23-2521) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Sixth Session  Original: English  
 
 
TRADE AND COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)  
AND THE UNITED  KINGDOM (UK), GOODS AND SERVICES  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 27  MARCH 2023  
Chair: Ambassador H.E. M s. Clare KELLY (New Zealand ) 
1.1.  The 106th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter "CRTA" or the 
"Committee") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/31 /Rev.1  dated 1 7 March 2023.  
1.2.  Under Agenda Item I.III of the Session, the CRTA considered the  Trade and Cooperation 
Agreement  between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK), (hereinafter "the 
Agreement"). The Chair stated that the factual presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat 
on its own responsibility in full consultation with the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of 
the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Agreement had entered into force, on a provisional basis, on 1 January 2021 . It had been 
notified to the WTO by the Parties on 29 January 2021 under Ar ticles XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 
and V:7(a) of the GATS (documents WT/REG447/N/1 and S/C/N/1041 respectively). The Parties 
stated that the Agreement establishe d a free trade area in goods within the meaning of 
Article  XXIV:8(b) of the GATT 1994, and for t rade in services, an agreement within the meaning of 
Article V of the GATS.  The text of the Agreement and its Annexes are available on the Parties' official 
websites and in the WTO RTAs database. The Factual Presentation (document  WT/REG447/1) and 
the ques tions and replies on this Agreement (document WT/REG447/2) had been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of the European Union  welcomed the consideration of the EU –UK Trade and 
Cooperation agreement (TCA) and the opportunity to present it. The Parties  thanked the WTO 
Secretariat for preparing the meeting  as well as WTO Members for their interest in the Agreement.  
1.5.  The Agreement went beyond traditional free trade agreements and provided a solid basis for 
preserving the longstanding friendship and cooperation  between the Parties . It had been  signed on 
30 December 2020, applied  provisionally as of 1 January 2021,  and had entered into force on 1 May 
2021.  
1.6.  The Agreement had set out preferential arrangements in areas such as trade in goods and in 
services, digital trade, intellectual property, public procurement, aviation and road transport, 
energy, fisheries, social security coordination , law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal 
matters, thematic cooperation,  and participation in Union programmes. It was underpinned by 
provisions ensuring a level playing field and respect for fundamental rights .  
1.7.  To give maximum legal certaint y to businesses, consumers and citizens, a dedicated Chapter 
on governance provided clarity on how the agreement would be operated and controlled. That 
included the establishment of a Joint Partnership Council, wh ich would make sure the Agreement 
was prope rly applied and in which all arising issues would be  discussed . 
1.8.  To ensure the effective implementation of the Agreement so that consumers and businesses 
could fully reap the benefits of trade and the development opportunities that the Agreement offered, 
both Parties met in the specialized Committees that the Agreement had established. All the 
Committees had met in 2021 and 2022, and agendas and minutes of the meetings were publicly 
available.  WT/REG4 47/M/1  
 
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  1.9.  There were 10 trade specialized committees (TSC) and  18 Specializ ed Committees. The TSCs 
were presided over by a Trade Partnership Committee which also met on an annual basis. In addition, 
there was the Civil Society Forum which consisted of representatives of the respective Domestic 
Advisory Groups (civil society, busine ss associations, trade unions and non-Governmental 
organizations ). 
1.10.  Binding enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms ensured the proper implementation 
of the Agreement so that businesses, consumers, and individuals could benefit from it.  
1.11.  The Agreement had a very broad scope and strong disciplines on goods, which included 
market access and national treatment, rules of origin and customs facilitation, technical barriers to 
trade, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  In all these areas, t he Agreement offered clarity, 
legal certainty,  and predictability to facilitate trade. The zero tariffs and quota free provisions were 
unprecedented and ensured low prices for consumers and producers. There were also strong 
commitments on import and export  restrictions.  
1.12.  To benefit from zero tariffs, goods had to comply with the appropriate rules of origin. 
Moreover, traders could self -certify the origin of goods sold and enjoy 'full bilateral cumulation ' (i.e., 
processing activities also counted towards ori gin, not just materials used), making it easier to comply 
with the requirements and obtain zero -tariff access.  There were also provisions on mutual 
recognition of trusted traders'  program mes (Authorised Economic Operators) which ensured lighter 
customs for malities and smoother flow of goods.  
1.13.  In the area of SPS, the Agreement had included a number of measures aimed at limiting SPS 
import procedures where possible, to facilitate trade while upholding strict sanitary standards. In 
particular, it allowed for ei ther Party to unilaterally decide to reduce the frequency of certain types 
of import controls, taking into account the extent to which their SPS rules converged.  
1.14.  It had also ensured a simplified process for the approval of imports, where relevant, by 
drawing up lists of establishments that were eligible to export to the other Party, based on 
guarantees provided by the authorities of the exporting Party.  
1.15.  In the regulatory sphere, there was a common and clear definition of international standards 
and the maintenance of self -declared conformity of a large array of low -risk products. Additionally, 
there were certain specific facilitation arrangements for wine, organic  and automotive  products , 
pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.  
1.16.  These examples regarding the coverage of the Agreement were evidence that the Parties had 
maintained strong trade and investment links , to cater for, as much as possible, a smooth flow of 
trade in goods. The  Parties were confident that they would continue to build on their strong 
partnership for the future.  
1.17.  The representative of the United Kingdom  noted that t he Chapters on investment liberalisation 
and cross -border trade in services contained familiar discip lines on market access, national 
treatment, most -favoured nation, local presence and performance requirements. Chapter 4 covered 
the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes . Chapter 5 covered the 
regulatory framework, which set ou t provisions for specific sectors such as delivery, 
telecommunications, financial, maritime, and legal services. It also provided best practice rules on 
licensing and qualifications.  
1.18.  The digital trade title covered any transaction facilitated by electronic  means, capturing trade 
in goods, trade in services, public procurement and intellectual property. The Agreement had 
achieved a high level of ambition and was resilient to the changing regulatory environment of the 
digital economy. Both the services and in vestment and digital trade titles had preserved the right to 
regulate, and the digital trade title had ensured protection for personal data.  
1.19.  The Agreement 's commitments had been  structured in the form of a negative list for modes 
1, 2, and 3 under Annexes 19 and 20, which covered existing and future non -confirming measures, 
respectively. Mode 4 commitments had been  detailed in annexes 21 and 22. The cross -border trade 
in services  Chapter (which covered mode 2 as well as mode 1) provided comprehensive coverage, 
including for professional business services, transport services, and environmental services. The WT/REG4 47/M/1  
 
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  investment provisions covered non -services sectors too, such as manufacturi ng, energy, and 
agriculture.  
1.20.  Turning to the Chapter on capital movements, the Agreement had included commitments on 
the free flow of capital and payments for goods and services to facilitate trade and investment 
covered. The provisions ensured that the Par ties could still pursue public policy objectives in their 
respective jurisdictions. Specific exceptions allowed the Parties to impose appropriate temporary 
measures, for example, in the event of a balance of payments crisis.  
1.21.  On intellectual property, build ing on the  Parties'  respective multilateral commitments, the 
Agreement had provided high standards of protection for, and enforcement of, intellectual property 
(IP) rights. These included registered IP rights such as patents, trademarks, and designs, and 
unregistered rights such as copyright, trade secrets, and unregistered designs. The Agreement also 
included mechanisms for enforcing these rights and cooperating on IP issues of mutual interest.  
1.22.  With regards to public procurement, the Agreement 's provision s had been  based on the GPA 
but built on the market access extended through that agreement. Below threshold procurements 
were subject to national treatment. Procurements of private undertakings operating in any of the 
covered utilities had been  also covere d, provided those undertakings operated on the basis of special 
and exclusive rights.  
1.23.  The Agreement also covered energy in some depth. Specific provisions in Chapter IV of the 
Energy Title regarding energy goods and raw materials prohibited dual pricing. The sector had also 
been covered through the Agreement 's provisions on subsidy control and investment liberalisation.  
1.24.  Title XI of the Agreement was the Level Playing Field (LP F) for Open and Fair Competition and 
Sustainable Development. It contained commit ments aimed at preventing distortions in trade or 
investment between the Parties, as well as commitments on sustainable development.  
1.25.  Chapter 3 of Title XI was on Subsidy Control. It contained principles that the Parties were 
required to respect when granti ng subsidies, for example, that subsidies should pursue a specific 
public policy objective. Some subsidies were prohibited by the Agreement or were subject to specific 
conditions. The list of prohibited subsidies included those that had been  prohibited in the WTO. The 
Chapter also included provisions on transparency, including a commitment to make information 
about the granting of subsidies publicly available through a public website or database. There were 
additional provisions on the role of domestic cour ts in reviewing domestic subsidy decisions. In 
certain circumstances, domestic courts had the power to order the recovery of subsidies that had 
been improperly granted under domestic law. The subsidy Chapter also provided for consultations 
and dispute sett lement, though some of the subsidy provisions had been  carved out of dispute 
resolution. The Agreement provided both Parties with the ability to take appropriate remedial 
measures, if there was evidence that a subsidy of the other Party caused, or there wa s a serious 
risk that it would cause, a significant negative effect on trade or investment between the Parties. 
The provision followed  a procedure separate from  the main dispute resolution mechanism of the 
Agreement.  
1.26.  On Competition and State -Owned Enterpri ses, Chapter 2 of the LPF Title required the Parties 
to maintain their high standards of competition law to effectively address anticompetitive business 
practices. Both Parties had also agreed to maintain independent competition authorities and to apply 
competition law on a procedurally fair, transparent, and non -discriminatory basis. Chapter 4 covered 
provisions on State  Owned  Enterprises, which aimed to ensure that such enterprises could not 
discriminate against enterprises of the other Party when buyi ng or selling goods or services on 
commercial markets.  
1.27.  With regard to non -regression in labour, environment and social standards, Chapters 5, 6, 
and 7 of the Agreement contained commitments on taxation, labour and social standards, and 
environment and clim ate standards. They included provisions on non -regression, which stated that 
neither Party could weaken or reduce the overall levels of protection provided in their laws at the 
end of the transition period  (which is at the end of 31 December 2020)  in a way  that would affect 
trade or investment between the Parties. In the event of a dispute, the Parties could request 
consultations and the establishment of a panel of experts to examine the matter. The panel of 
experts would deliver a report to the Parties. Wi th respect to disputes relating to the non -regression WT/REG4 47/M/1  
 
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  commitments, where the respondent Party chose not to take any action to conform with the report 
of the panel of experts, temporary remedies were available to the complaining Party.  
1.28.  Chapter 8 of the LPF Title covered trade and sustainable development. The Chapter affirmed 
the Parties ' existing commitments to a range of international conventions and other commitments 
in the areas of labour, environment, and climate, including, for example, the Paris Agreem ent. It 
covered areas such as biological diversity (e.g. preventing illegal wildlife trade), conservation and 
sustainable forest management (e.g. preventing illegal logging), and management of marine 
biological resources and aquaculture (e.g. to prevent, d eter, and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and 
Unregulated ("IUU") fishing related trade). It recognized the importance of conserving and 
sustainably managing environment/climate policy areas and the role of trade and investment in 
pursuing that objective. In  the event of a dispute, either Party could request consultations and the 
establishment of a panel of experts to consider the matter.  
1.29.  The Chair opened the floor for any questions from  the Members.  
1.30.  The representative  of Brazil  congratulated the Chair on her election and thanked the Parties 
for their comprehensive presentations on the Agreement. He asked if the presentation could be 
circulated to Members . 
1.31.  The representative  of Canada  thanked the Parties for their useful presentations. He requested 
further de tails on how the civil society forum was established and run.  
1.32.  The representative  of Japan  thanked the Parties for their informative and comprehensive 
presentations. He also expressed his gratitude to the Parties and the Secretariat for  their efforts in 
preparing  the factual presentation. He appreciated the responses to  Japan's  written question s 
concerning the Chapter on the environment and wished the Parties  success in the implementation 
of the Agreement.  
1.33.  The representative  of Australia  congratulated the Chair on her appointment and thanked the 
Parties for a very informative presentation. He w elcomed the Agreement, stating that Australia had 
a strong economic and political relationship with both the UK and the EU. He also acknowledged the 
strong role the  Parties  played in the multilateral trading system in upholding an open, inclusive, and 
rules-based international order.  
1.34.  The representative  of the United States  thanked and expressed gratitude to the Parties  for 
their participation in the transparency exercise. Following the  written question raised by Japan about 
carbon pricing, he noted  that pa ragraph 5.64 of the factual presentation highlighted the Parties' 
obligation to cooperate on carbon pricing and to consider linking their respective systems. He asked  
how and to what extent the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism ( CBAM) regime would 
interact with the Agreement. In addition, he asked whether the EU and the UK could provide 
examples of how they intend ed to promote trade and investment in green goods through the 
Agreement and whether they would be willing to share this information in the c ontext of the CRTA 
as well as other initiatives, such  as Trade and Environment Sustainability Structured Discussion 
(TESSD)  or even CTE. 
1.35.  The representative  of the United Kingdom  thanked  the representatives of  Japan, Australia, 
and Brazil for their warm words  and confirmed  that the Parties would circulate the ir presentation 
after the meeting. In response to the question from Canada, he clarified that the civil society forum's 
scope and mandate were confined to Part II of the Agreement, which covered the Agreement's trade 
provisions, among other issues. The first civil society forum meeting had taken  place in  October 
2022 and had discussed trade in goods and energy, level playing field, and sustainability. The record 
of that meeting was available on the respective websites of the UK and the EU. The Partnership 
Council had also concluded some guidelines regarding the operation of the civil society forum in 
2021 that had set out more details on the practicalities of  how the forum function ed. 
1.36.  The representative of the European Union noted  that while advanced, civil legislation on CBAM 
had not been adopted by the EU yet, and ongoing discussions had been  focused on the methodology 
and implementation of CBAM. The current approach in the legislative proposal was that any carbon 
price paid in the country of origin would be recognized. Both Parties  had committed to having an 
effective system of carbon pricing, as note d in Article 392 of the Agreement. The Agreement also WT/REG4 47/M/1  
 
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  included commitments on cooperation on carbon pricing, with the possibility of linking their systems.  
The Parties  had also exchanged information on their respective carbon pricing systems in the trade 
specialized committee  on level playing field for open and fair competition to promote sustainable 
development  and kept each other regularly updated. The Agreement had set an ambition for the 
Parties to promote trade and investment in green products. For ins tance, the Parties had recognized 
the importance of taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, and there were 
provisions for facilitating the removal of obstacles to trade and investment in goods and services 
relevant for climate change  mitigation and adaptation, such as renewable energy. The Parties would 
discuss how best to implement these provisions, as well as the Agreement as a whole.  
1.37.  The Chair noted the consideration of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the 
European Union  and the United Kingdom had allowed the Committee to clarify a number of questions 
and conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency 
Mechanism. Any delegations wishing to ask follow -up questions were invited to for ward submissions 
in writing to the Secretariat by 3 April 2023 and the Parties were asked to submit replies in writing 
by no later than 17 April 2023. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism all 
written submissions, as well as the min utes of the meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO 
official languages, and made available on the WTO website.  
1.38.  The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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