UK Customs & Global Trade update - Week 25
From articles reflecting on six years of Brexit, UK-GCC FTA talks and CDS upgrade calls to tongue-eating parasites in our food, we cover all that you need to know.
Content
Brexit - ‘What have we done?’: six years on, UK counts the cost of Brexit
Letters to businesses about importing and exporting goods between Great Britain and the EU
220,000 businesses urged to move onto new single customs platform
Customs Declaration Service error codes
Customs declaration completion requirements for Great Britain
UK launches ambitious trade deal with Gulf nations
UK approach to negotiating a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council: call for input
Joint statement on the launch of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the UK and GCC
Notice to exporters 2022/18: introduction of additional sanctions against Russia
Notice to Importers 2953: Russia import sanctions
Russia sanctions: guidance
Financial sanctions, Myanmar
ADD, CVD Trade remedies notices
Trade remedies notices: suspension of anti-dumping duty on electric bicycles from China produced by certain companies
Steel safeguard reconsideration: the Secretary of State’s proposed approach
SPS & Food Health -Felixstowe: Tongue-eating parasites found at port in container of fish meant for human consumption | UK News | Sky News
Brexit
‘What have we done?’: six years on, UK counts the cost of Brexit
Sectors from fishing to aviation, farming to science report being bogged down in red tape, struggling to recruit staff and racking up losses for the first time
Summary of the article:
When he voted for Brexit, Geoffrey Betts, managing director of office supply business Stewart Superior, had great aspirations for the United Kingdom. "What have we done?" he wonders now. His company has survived, but only after extensive restructuring and attempts to overcome the challenges posed by Brexit on the export side of the business. Gyr King, CEO of King & McGaw, says he has almost ceased exporting to the EU due to the high costs and paperwork associated with Brexit. Others have expressed similar dissatisfaction.
"You're shooting yourself in the foot if you can't send your products into the greatest market right on your doorstep," he adds. Most of the trade arrangements made by the UK with non-EU nations have had a little economic impact and were simply "rolled over" from equivalent ones while we were an EU member. Even Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit minister, has ceased talking about Brexit and the UK economy. According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, Brexit will reduce UK GDP by 4% in the long run. By the end of last year, the UK's GDP was 5% - or £31 billion - less than if it had remained in the EU.
Many farmers in the southwest feel that Brexit pledges had been broken. Other industries are feeling betrayed by Brexit, as memories of Covid lockdowns fade. The fishing sector, which was promised a fresh lease of life after leaving the EU, is on the edge of collapse. "I believe Brexit was a very terrible divorce between ourselves and Europe," Health Secretary Shona Robison says. The amount of paperwork associated with health and hygiene, EU import laws, and other monitoring obligations has increased considerably.
Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet, says it is "unlikely" that Brexit would result in employee shortages. His business rejected 8,000 employment applications from EU nationals because they did not have authorisation to work in the UK. Those UK scientists who have recently secured funding have been advised they must relocate to an EU nation in order to continue receiving cash. Among those impacted is Cambridge astronomer Nicholas Walton, who handed up control of a €2.8 million star-mapping project to a colleague in the Netherlands. The government is working on a strategy to compensate for part of the funds lost if our relationship with Horizon fails as planned.
Customs
Letters to businesses about importing and exporting goods between Great Britain and the EU
HMRC letters to VAT-registered businesses in Great Britain trading with the EU, highlighting the new rules and actions to take for importing goods from or exporting goods to the EU.Page updated with a copy of the most recent letter, dated June 2022.
220,000 businesses urged to move onto new single customs platform
Businesses are being urged to move onto HMRC’s new single customs platform before 30 September 2022.
Customs Declaration Service error codes
Look up Customs Declaration Service error codes.The list of Customs Declaration Service error codes has been updated.
Customs declaration completion requirements for Great Britain
Use this guide as a supplement when using the CHIEF and CDS trade tariffs to import and export goods to and from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Part 1, 2022 Updates and Part 2, Annex 1: CDS Appendices have been updated to include information about the extension of the I1 B&E Simplification being introduced on CDS for Great Britain imports from 25 June 2022. This facilitation extends the circumstances in which the simplified declaration on an occasional basis (I1 B&E data set) may be used for import purposes in Great Britain.
FTA
UK launches ambitious trade deal with Gulf nations
Trade Secretary launches free trade negotiations between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council, made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
UK approach to negotiating a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
The UK’s objectives in trade negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council: call for input
We’re seeking input on which aspects of our current trading arrangements with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) we should look to improve or amend. Addition of link to government’s response to the Gulf Cooperation Council consultation.
Joint statement on the launch of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the UK and GCC
A joint statement on the launch of Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the UK and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Sanctions
Notice to exporters 2022/18: introduction of additional sanctions against Russia
This notice sets out additional sanctions measures on Russia.
Notice to Importers 2953: Russia import sanctions
Import prohibitions in force under the Russia Sanctions Regulations 2019, as amended. It should be read alongside the statutory guidance. Links added for the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 10) Regulations 2022 and Schedule 3D of the Russia Sanctions Regulations.
Russia sanctions: guidance
Guidance on the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
Guidance updated to reflect the provisions in the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) (Amendment) (No. 10) Regulations 2022.
Financial sanctions, Myanmar
Myanmar is currently subject to UK financial sanctions. This document provides a current list of designated persons.
ADD, CVD
Trade remedies notices
Find trade remedies notices published from February 2020.
Added to collection: Trade remedies notices: suspension of anti-dumping duty on electric bicycles from China produced by certain companies.
Trade remedies notices: suspension of anti-dumping duty on electric bicycles from China produced by certain companies
The Secretary of State for International Trade is suspending the collection of anti-dumping duty on electric bicycles from China produced by certain companies, under the Trade Remedies (Dumping and Subsidisation) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
Steel safeguard reconsideration: the Secretary of State’s proposed approach
The Secretary of State for International Trade’s proposed approach on the reconsideration of the steel safeguard. Added link to: TF0006 Steel Safeguards Reconsideration Call In Report of Findings.
SPS & Food Health
Felixstowe: Tongue-eating parasites found at port in container of fish meant for human consumption | UK News | Sky News
Although the parasite was not a risk to humans, health experts said the batch of fish was below expected standards.
Tongue-eating parasites were discovered in a sea bream cargo that was rejected entrance at a UK port. The Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority (SCPHA) performed a regular health check on a container of fish intended for human consumption when it landed in Felixstowe. The parasite, Cymothoa exigua, was discovered within the sea bream. By replacing the fish's tongue, the creature feeds on it. Although the parasite posed no harm to human health, the health authorities said that the batch of fish fell short of expectations. Danut Cazacu, a SCPHA official veterinary surgeon who detected the health risk, stated: "Investigations are conducted at our discretion, so that if anything is found to be improper, we may have more of the consignment unloaded for further investigation. "We blocked the consignment's entrance into the UK after inspecting more boxes and discovering that the majority of the sea bream were contaminated. "From there, the importer has the option of having it destroyed or returned to them; in this instance, they selected the latter." Over the years, the authority has discovered a variety of strange items in its food consignments, including maggots, live insects, and a praying mantis.