After ten months of intense negotiations, an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union was concluded on December 24, 2020 and will enter into force provisionally on January 1, 2021.
Attention is drawn to the fact that on 18 January 2021, French Customs will update all previously granted REX registrations. They now automatically include the United Kingdom (ISO code "GB") in digit 5 relating to the applicable preferential relations.
This automatic procedure is intended to facilitate the use of the REX number to the United Kingdom without any specific request for modification by operators. This operation does not affect the responsibility of the operators as regards the respect of the originating status of the products for which the REX number would be used or the appropriateness of using it towards the United Kingdom.
An unprecedented agreement for the European Union
After ten months of intense negotiations, an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union was concluded on December 24, 2020 and will enter into force provisionally on January 1, 2021.
After ten months of intense negotiations, an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union was concluded on 24 December 2020 and will enter into force provisionally on 1 January 2021.
Given the importance and diversity of our trade exchanges with the United Kingdom, its implementation will make it possible to avoid, for economic operators, a sometimes significant additional cost with regard to the customs tariffs applicable without the agreement.
In any case, the agreement implies that a customs declaration must be lodged for all trade with the UK from 1 January onwards.
Dismantling customs duties
This is a ground-breaking agreement for the European Union which was negotiating the exit of one of its members for the first time. It provides for the dismantling of customs duties, applied by both Parties from 1 January 2021 for all products, subject to compliance with the preferential origin rules specified in the Agreement.
Subject to the notion of the product origin
This exemption, requested in the customs declaration, is subject to the notion of "originating product" of one of the two parties and cannot apply indiscriminately to all trade between the European Union and the United Kingdom.
The provisions for defining the product origin are detailed in the documents below:
- in the note to operators [PDF - French content]for the implementation of the agreement,
- as well as in worksheet N°1 [PDF - French content] for preferential origin
- and worksheet N°2 [PDF - French content] for the notions of bilateral cumulation.
Products not complying with it will be subject respectively to the Common External Tariff on import into the European Union and the UK Global Tariff on import into the United Kingdom.
Find all notes to operators regarding Brexit
- Notes to operators - End of the transition period established by the withdrawal agreement of the United Kingdom from the European Union [PDF]
- Notes to operators regarding Brexit and the Smart Border project [French content]