19 October 2021 - Trade in goods - Oral evidence

• Watch live: Parliament TV
• Inquiry: Trade in Goods
• Call for evidence: Trade in Goods
• European Affairs Committee

Background

The Committee has launched an inquiry into the trade in goods between Great Britain and the EU, of which this is the first oral evidence session. The launch of this inquiry comes nearly a year after the UK’s formal exit from the Single Market and Customs Union, and comes shortly after the UK Government’s decision on 14 September 2021 to further delay the introduction of new import controls on goods entering GB from the EU, many of which will now not be introduced until 1 July 2022. In announcing this delay, the Government stated that its “own preparations, in terms of systems, infrastructure and resourcing, remain on track to meet” the original timetable, and that the delay instead reflected the impact of the pandemic and wider pressures on supply chains.

In contrast to this approach, the EU introduced full import controls from 1 January 2021 – leading to an asymmetry between GB exports to the EU and GB imports from the EU, with the former facing more checks and controls than the latter.

Topics for discussion include:

• The extent to which business have adjusted to the new trading landscape
• The advantages and disadvantages of the Government's deision to delay the introduction of import controls
• The impact of an asymmetric GB-EU border on the competitiveness of UK exporters
• The relationship between current labour shortages and GB-EU goods trade

Further information

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