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| On the 29th (local time), a European citizen stares at the flag of Britain leaving the EU with regret. © Reuters = News 1 |
As the UK and the European Union (EU) dramatically concluded future relations negotiations and concluded the Brexit negotiations, the impact of Korean companies exporting directly to the UK or EU was found to be limited.
However, it is pointed out that Korean export companies need to prepare for this, as changes in customs clearance, certification, and regulations occur after the implementation period ends, regardless of whether the future relationship negotiations are concluded.
According to the Korea International Trade Association on the 25th, it is expected that Korean companies exporting directly to the UK or EU will have little impact due to the conclusion of the UK-EU future relationship negotiations.
This is because when the Korea-English FTA was officially signed on August 22 of last year, the preferential trade relationship between the Korea-English FTA will continue even if the transition period ends with the no-deal Brexit. According to the Korea-English FTA, exports via the EU that meet the requirements are also recognized as direct transportation for a limited time for three years, and preferential tariff benefits are granted.
In addition, EU-local Korean manufacturing companies that export products from the EU to the UK are expected to continue to be subject to customs-free tariffs at EU-UK customs clearance according to the conclusion of negotiations.
However, the Korea International Trade Association said, “Regardless of whether future relations negotiations have been concluded, Korean export companies need to prepare for this because changes in customs clearance, certification, and regulations will occur from January 1, 2021, when the implementation period ends.” Emphasized.
In the UK, EU imports, accounting for 302.2 billion euros (approximately 406 trillion won) of 49.1% of total imports (as of 2019, of 616 billion euros (approximately 830 trillion won), are converted to offshore customs clearance, so from January 1 next year, customs clearance is confused for the time being. This is because this is expected to be inevitable.
In addition, the Korea Trade Association predicted that even if the negotiations for future relations were concluded, after the implementation period was over, separate laws and regulations were applied to the EU and the UK, and in particular, in the case of certification, the effect may be a problem depending on the country where the certification body is located.
After the end of the implementation period, the EU will not recognize the validity of the CE certification that has been evaluated by a British accredited body. The UK has also announced its own UKCA certification, which replaces the CE certification, but plans to recognize the effectiveness of the CE certification, which was temporarily evaluated by an EU accredited body by the end of next year.
Meanwhile, the Korea International Trade Association has been operating the’Brexit Response Support Desk’ in cooperation with KOTRA to support the export industry’s response to Brexit since January last year. Shortly after the end of the implementation period, the Korea Trade Association plans to appoint a Brexit-only customs company and expand consultation counters in preparation for increasing consultations such as preferential tariffs and rules of origin for the Korea-English FTA and Korea-EU FTA.
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| Effects of tariffs on EU local producers as a result of UK-EU future relations negotiations. (Provided by Martial Arts) © News1 |