ENGLAND/CANADA – The UK and Canada on Tuesday 22, December 2020, agreed on transitional measures to maintain the flow of goods between our countries from January 1, 2021.
These temporary arrangements will be in place until the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) is approved by the Canadian and UK parliaments early next year.
The UK and Canada Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) ensures:
- Tariff-free trade is maintained for UK and Canadian businesses exporting goods eligible for preferential treatment under the TCA;
- Access to Tariff Rate Quotas is maintained for products covered in the TCA;
- Rules of Origin that enable EU content and processing to count as originating in the UK as set out in the TCA.
In addition, the UK and Canada are finalising arrangements to maintain shared recognition rules on compliance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) for pharmaceutical products, and to provide continuity in regard to the mutual acceptance of the results of conformity assessment for radio and telecommunications terminal equipment and Electromagnetic compatibility.
The final arrangements will be published here.
We will work with UK businesses to provide clear guidance on the arrangements for 1 January and on any temporary changes that may have an impact on them between January 1 and the TCA coming into force in early 2021.
“Canada is a trading nation. With this announcement, our government will ensure Canadian businesses that trade goods with the United Kingdom continue to have preferential access. This action is important for many businesses and jobs in Canada, which benefit from the strong economic ties between our two countries,” said, Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and minister of finance.
In keeping with the MOU, the government of Canada has issued the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Remission Order, 2021, in immediate effect, to minimize disruptions for Canadian importers. The order ensures that tariff benefits currently afforded to eligible imports from the United Kingdom under CETA, and replicated in the future Canada-UK TCA, are temporarily available to Canadian importers. In exchange, the United Kingdom has agreed to provide reciprocal tariff benefits for eligible Canadian exports to the United Kingdom. The remission order is intended to remain in effect until the Canada-U.K. TCA can enter into force through respective legislative procedures.
By announcing the MOU and the corresponding preferential tariff treatment before January 1, 2021, the government of Canada is making sure businesses can easily continue trading without adding paperwork for businesses and importers. These measures will ensure stability and certainty on both sides of the Atlantic.
“The United Kingdom is a key trading partner for Canada, which is why our government has been working tirelessly to ensure continuity for our businesses and to maintain the stability and reliability of our important trade relationship with the United Kingdom. This remission order will provide certainty for Canadian importers of UK goods from January 1, 2021,” said, Mary Ng, minister of small business, export promotion and international trade.
