Legislating for Brexit

The government has tabled resolutions for a customs bill – the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill – and introduced the Trade Bill to parliament as it paves the way for the UK leaving the EU.

In a written ministerial statement Greg Hands Minister of State for International Trade said this followed publication of two white papers in October. These set out the government’s approach to legislating for the UK’s future trade policy establishing a standalone customs regime and ensuring that VAT and excise legislation will operate effectively on leaving the EU.

The Trade Bill will:

• enable the UK to transition current trade agreements between the EU and other countries;
• allow the UK to implement the obligations created by becoming an independent member of the agreement on government procurement. This would maintain guaranteed access for UK businesses to global procurement...