Brexit: The origin of goods

Despite the government securing a trade agreement with the EU, companies that trade between the UK and the EU face a whole host of new customs rules and regulations.

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement stipulates that no tariffs or quotas apply to trade between the two – as long as goods “originate” in the other party. However, this means that businesses moving manufactured goods between the UK and the EU will now need to understand the complex rules around origin.

Under the agreement, the importer of goods pays any customs duties but can rely on a ‘statement of origin’ from the exporter. Therefore, the rules on origin will be relevant to anyone who trades in goods, including manufacturers buying in components, suppliers and retailers.

Where a product contains components from different countries, then complex and product-specific “rules of origin” are used to determine where the end-product is deemed to originate. Under the new rules, the exporter can provide evidence of origin in a self-declaration or the importer can rely on information it has received itself that evidences the origin of the goods.

The rules of origin requirements for the most important provisions that your business needs to understand and comply with, under the UK’s deal with the EU can be found here.