Trading under the mutual recognition principle if there’s no Brexit deal
Published 13 September 2018
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trading-under-the-mutual-recognition-principle-if-theres-no-brexit-deal/trading-under-the-mutual-recognition-principle-if-theres-no-brexit-deal
Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the government’s top priority. This has not changed.
However, the government must prepare for every eventuality, including a no deal scenario. For 2 years, the government has been implementing a significant programme of work to ensure that the UK is prepared to leave the EU on 29 March 2019.
It has always been the case that as we get nearer to that date, preparations for a no deal scenario would have to be accelerated. We must ensure plans are in place should they need to be relied upon.
In the summer, the government published a series of 106 technical notices setting out information to allow businesses and citizens to understand what they would need to do in a no deal scenario so they can make informed plans and preparations.
This technical notice offers guidance for continued planning in the event of no deal.
Also included is an overarching framing notice explaining the government’s approach to preparing the UK for this outcome in order to minimise disruption and ensure a smooth and orderly exit.
We are working with the devolved administrations on technical notices and we will continue to do so as plans develop.
Purpose
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March 2019, the requirements for placing certain products on the UK and EU markets, including the arrangements for non-harmonised goods imported and exported under the mutual recognition principle, will change. This notice explains the future arrangements for the import and export of non-harmonised goods under the mutual recognition principle in a ‘no deal’ scenario.
Before 29 March 2019
Some manufactured goods are subject to national regulations rather than EU-wide rules. Examples include furniture, textiles, bicycles, and cooking utensils. This is not an exhaustive list.
These non-harmonised goods can circulate on the EU market under the mutual recognition principle. This principle prevents EU countries from prohibiting the sale of goods that have already been legally sold in another EU country. This applies even where countries have different national requirements covering the same good.
As an example, a bicycle made to comply with French national requirements and sold in France can then lawfully be marketed in other EU countries – even though those countries may have different national requirements for bicycles.
The only exceptions to the mutual recognition principle are restrictions which EU countries can introduce on grounds such as public safety, public policy and public morality.
EU countries’ right to restrict the circulation of these goods, for the above reasons, is regulated by the EU Mutual Recognition Regulation (764/2008). As well as setting out rules and procedures, it establishes product contact points in each EU country which respond to requests for information about national regulations.
After March 2019 if there’s no deal
The UK will no longer fall within the scope of the mutual recognition principle.
Implications
UK businesses exporting non-harmonised goods to the EU market will need to consider the national requirements of the first EU country they export to. They will not need to consider the national requirements of any EU countries goods travel through before reaching the EU country in which they are intended to be placed on the market.
UK businesses who have already exported a non-harmonised good to an EU country by meeting the relevant national requirements will still be able to make use of the mutual recognition principle and market their product in other EU countries.
UK businesses who import non-harmonised goods into the UK will need to take action even if their goods were previously lawfully marketed in another EU country.
Non-UK businesses exporting non-harmonised goods to the UK will need to take action even if their goods were previously lawfully marketed in another EU country or in the UK.
Actions for businesses and other stakeholders
UK businesses exporting non-harmonised goods to the EU market will need to meet the national requirements of the first EU country they export to.
UK businesses who have already exported a non-harmonised good to an EU country by meeting the relevant national requirements will not need to take any specific action.
UK businesses who import non-harmonised goods into the UK will need to ensure they meet UK national requirements.
Non-UK businesses exporting non-harmonised goods to the UK will need to ensure that the goods meet UK national requirements, regardless of whether they were previously lawfully marketed in another EU country or in the UK.
More information
This notice deals with trade in manufactured goods under the mutual recognition principle. Further information will be provided in due course regarding foodstuffs currently covered by the mutual recognition principle.
A list of relevant UK national regulations can be found here. This list not may not exhaustive.
Further information about different national regulations of non-harmonised goods for different EU countries is available via product contact points.
This notice is meant for guidance only. You should consider whether you need separate professional advice before making specific preparations.
It is part of the government’s ongoing programme of planning for all possible outcomes. We expect to negotiate a successful deal with the EU.
The UK government is clear that in this scenario we must respect our unique relationship with Ireland, with whom we share a land border and who are co-signatories of the Belfast Agreement. The UK government has consistently placed upholding the Agreement and its successors at the heart of our approach. It enshrines the consent principle on which Northern Ireland’s constitutional status rests. We recognise the basis it has provided for the deep economic and social cooperation on the island of Ireland. This includes North-South cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which we’re committed to protecting in line with the letter and spirit of Strand two of the Agreement.
The Irish government have indicated they would need to discuss arrangements in the event of no deal with the European Commission and EU countries. The UK would stand ready in this scenario to engage constructively to meet our commitments and act in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland, recognising the very significant challenges that the lack of a UK-EU legal agreement would pose in this unique and highly sensitive context.
It remains, though, the responsibility of the UK government, as the sovereign government in Northern Ireland, to continue preparations for the full range of potential outcomes, including no deal. As we do, and as decisions are made, we’ll take full account of the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland.
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein are party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area and participate in other EU arrangements. As such, in many areas, these countries adopt EU rules. Where this is the case, these technical notices may also apply to them, and EEA businesses and citizens should consider whether they need to take any steps to prepare for a ‘no deal’ scenario.