BEYOND BREXIT WHAT'S NEXT? Beyond Brexit Thought Leadership Briefings Brexit Contacts Show Search bar Trade and customs in the UK beyond Brexit As of 1 January 2021, the transition period of the UK's access to the EU's Single Market and Customs Union ended, meaning the EU's trade law regime no longer applies to the UK following Brexit. For the first time in 48 years, importers and exporters must grapple with a UK trade and customs administration entirely independent from the EU, including new domestic regulations, international trade agreements and, in some cases, government agencies. READ MORE Thought Leadership 23 SEPTEMBER 2021 Trade and customs in the UK beyond Brexit As of 1 January 2021, the transition period of the UK's access to the EU's Single Market and Customs Union ended, meaning the EU's trade law regime no longer applies to the UK following Brexit. For the first time in 48 years, importers and exporters must grapple with a UK trade and customs administration entirely independent from the EU, including new domestic regulations, international trade agreements and, in some cases, government agencies. 27 DECEMBER 2020 Relieved? UK and EU agree post-Brexit deal On 24 December 2020, after roller-coaster negotiations, the United Kingdom and the European Union announced they had agreed a post-Brexit "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation" Agreement. On 1 January 2021, the transition period ends, and the UK leaves the EU Single Market and the Customs Union. The EU-UK Agreement provides for zero tariffs and quotas. It represents a fundamental shift in the EU-UK relationship with substantially reduced market access but greater UK autonomy. This briefing examines what it covers, what it doesn't, and what happens next. The Agreement runs to 1,246 pages and the EU plans to bring it into provisional application on 1 January 2021 before being fully ratified. The UK plans to fully ratify the Agreement by the end of 2020. 18 NOVEMBER 2020 The Post-Brexit Patchwork: EU market access rules for UK firms On 31 December 2020, at the end of the Brexit transition period, UK firms will lose the passporting rights on which they currently rely to provide financial services in other EU jurisdictions. Instead, UK firms will need to consider the rules of each EU Member State to determine whether, and the extent to which, they will be able to continue providing services to clients in that jurisdiction. This step change in UK firms’ market access rights arises as a result of the UK leaving the EU single market. While the existing EU financial services regulatory framework includes numerous third-country regimes based on equivalence, none come close to replicating single market membership. Instead, UK firms will need to navigate a patchwork of national licensing regimes and face restrictions on cross-border business and many other impediments compared with the market access rights that an EU firm would have. 19 OCTOBER 2020 The European Commission 2019 - 2024 On 27 November 2019, The European Parliament confirmed the new class of European Commissioners with 461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions. The new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and her team of European Commissioners took office on 1 December 2019 and will drive the EU’s agenda for the next five years. President Von der Leyen, the former German defence minister, says that it will be a “geopolitical Commission,” signalling an intention to position Europe as a heavyweight on the world stage. Here Clifford Chance experts, including Of Counsel Michel Petite who worked for EU institutions for 27 years and was legal adviser to three Commission Presidents, assess the priorities for the von der Leyen Commission. MORE ARTICLES Briefings 07 JULY 2021 Merger control in a post-Brexit world: is the CMA up to the task? The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has been preparing itself for an increased merger control caseload in the wake of Brexit. In discussing the CMA's recent practice and guidance on jurisdiction, procedure, substantive assessment and remedies, Alex Nourry, Chandralekha Ghosh and Jordan Bernstein highlight key points of change in approach, particularly with regards to multi-jurisdictional mergers and digital markets. The article considers the sustainability of the CMA's approach and its potential impact on mergers. This article was first published by Thomson Reuters, trading as Sweet & Maxwell, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ in the European Competition Law Review as "Merger control in a post-Brexit world: is the CMA up to the task?" in [E.C.L.R. 2021, 42(7) 371-382] and is reproduced by agreement with the publishers. 01 JULY 2021 How to enforce a foreign judgment in England When asked whether and, if so, how a foreign judgment can be enforced in England, an English lawyer's answer will be: "it depends". It depends upon when the judgment was given, what jurisdiction provisions the parties have agreed, what courts gave the judgment, and on a myriad of other factors. That is not to say that it will be impossible, or even hard – it just depends. 11 MAY 2021 Beyond Brexit: EU vs UK Margin Rules for OTC Derivatives EU and UK margin rules for OTC derivatives will remain closely aligned after the end of the Brexit transition period – but some differences will remain. The EU Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on margin were ‘onshored’ in the UK from the end of the Brexit transition period with limited changes to reflect the UK’s status outside the EU. The PRA and FCA are consulting on amendments to align elements of the UK Margin RTS with changes made to the EU Margin RTS following the end of the Brexit transition period. However, the end of the Brexit transition period still means some changes for both EU and UK counterparties under: the EU Margin RTS as a result of the UK becoming a third country for the purposes of EU law; and the UK Margin RTS as a result of the onshoring amendments, albeit mitigated by transitional relief until 31 March 2022. The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) and Clifford Chance have prepared this briefing highlighting some key changes and differences that will remain between the EU and the UK Margin RTS. 30 APRIL 2021 How English judgments will be enforced in the EU post Brexit There is a prevalence in international agreements of parties electing to resolve their disputes before the English courts. It is therefore unsurprising that of the many questions that clients have to face in the aftermath of Brexit, one of the most common is whether their English judgment will continue to have the same value in Europe and how will they enforce it? For the reasons further explained, clients can rest easy that in practice English law and the decisions of the English courts will still be upheld, albeit using different routes. 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