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As a result of the Brexit deal, UK legal services are going to be an important aspect of future trade deals with countries across the globe and the demand for these services has increased markedly as a result.

However, UK-qualified lawyers cannot operate as freely in EU member states as they could before Brexit, adding further potential complications. This means that careful consideration and due diligence are required and you should work alongside experienced litigation lawyers.

In this piece, we’ll explain exactly how Brexit has affected litigation and the law and the impact it’s had, both positive and negative.

Cross-Border Trade

Moving goods between markets has always been an intricate process involving multiple stakeholders and requirements; however, when the UK left the EU on 31st January 2020, cross-border trade became even more complex.

As there’s no longer free trade between Europe and the UK since Brexit, there has been significant congestion and long delays at border crossings. This is partly a result of the new paperwork requirements to move goods across the border. As a result, it’s more important than ever for businesses to understand tariff classification, valuation, transfer pricing, and new rules concerning the country of origin, labelling, and marking.

Taxation

When bringing goods into Britain there are three types of tax to consider – customs duties, value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties. Following Brexit, the UK has left the EU VAT and excise duty area, meaning that goods from Europe are now treated the same way as goods from all other non-EU countries.

Companies operating internationally have had to adapt to new border controls on imports and exports and have been subject to changing (and in many cases, increasing) tariffs when moving their goods.

Workforce

When Brexit happened, freedom of movement between the UK and Europe ended. Prior to this, UK citizens were free to live and work in other EU countries and vice versa. However, anyone from the UK wishing to work or settle in Europe will now require a visa and millions of people from EU countries who were living and working in the UK had to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme in order to be granted the right to continue living here after Brexit. This scheme was designed to offer EU citizens (along with Swiss citizens and citizens of Norway, Lichtenstein, and Iceland) the opportunity to protect their residence in the UK, permitting them to stay.

However, this scheme was aimed at those already living here in the UK and the application deadline was June 2021. New workers wishing to come from the EU into the UK will require a visa subject to a points-based immigration system and work permits are required in most cases for UK citizens wanting to work in Europe. This creates obvious issues for international employers and for those who plan on travelling to the EU for work.

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