The UK-EU Post-Brexit Historic Trade Agreement
On December 24, 2020, the UK and the EU reached a historic agreement on a post-Brexit trade deal and on December 30th this agreement was overwhelmingly approved by UK MPs in Parliament.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement from Downing Street on the UK-EU trade agreement can be found here. In his statement, he underlined that the deal is based on friendly cooperation between sovereign equals, centered on free trade and inspired by a shared culture, history and values.
This more detailed document summarizes the Agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
From helpful information provided by British Embassy colleagues, the highlights of this new UK-EU ‘Trade and Cooperation Agreement’ include the following:
This is the first FTA that the EU has reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas and is welcome news for families and businesses in every part of the UK, including Northern Ireland. Businesses will be able to continue to trade smoothly, selling to their customers in the EU. From financial services through to automotive manufacturing, the deal protects high quality jobs and investment across the UK.
The deal delivers for the entire UK, protecting the integrity of the UK internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it.
The deal secures continued market access across a broad scope of key service sectors, including professional and business services, supporting new and continued investment between businesses. The agreement on financial services ensures financial stability and consumer protection.
The deal includes a commitment to maintaining high labor, environment and climate standards.
The deal ensures streamlined co-operation on law enforcement to ensure the UK continues to effectively tackle serious organized crime and counter terrorism, protecting the public and bringing criminals to justice. It also provides for future cooperation between the UK and EU on emerging security challenges, such as cyber and health security, including continuing to work together on tackling the spread of Covid-19.
