Lords EU Committee to take evidence on facilitating future UK-EU trade in manufactured goods

Both sessions will be held remotely and streamed on Parliament TV.
 
At 10am the Committee will hear from:

• Shanker Singham, Chief Executive Officer, Competere
• Dr Anna Jerzewska, Independent Customs and Trade Consultant, UN International Trade Centre
• Prof Michael Ambühl, Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management, ETH Zurich.

Possible questions that may be asked by the Committee include:

• How significant are non-tariff barriers as a potential obstacle to UK-EU trade in manufactured goods?
• What can the UK learn from the Swiss experience?
• What are the key differences between the UK and the EU negotiating positions on rules of origin?
• What forms of regulatory cooperation should there be between the UK and EU to facilitate UK-EU trade?
• To what extent could the UK take unilateral measures to reduce non-tariff barriers and how effective would these be?

At 11am the Committee will hear from:

• Alex Veitch, Head of International Policy, Freight Transport Association
• Dominique Willems, Senior Manager, CLECAT
• Robert Hardy, Operations Director, Oakland Invicta.

Possible questions that may be asked by the Committee include:

• How prepared is the customs and logistics industry for the introduction of new customs processes for goods traded with the EU (irrespective of the outcome of the negotiations)? How prepared are UK and EU ports and airports?
• How could the costs associated with the new customs procedures be mitigated through the UK-EU trade agreement?
• There have been reports that the Government plans to introduce a new IT system to allow for pre-declarations to be submitted: the Goods Vehicle Movement Service. How would this operate and help facilitate the flow of traffic/goods?
• How important are customs intermediaries and does the UK have a sufficient number of customs brokers and freight forwarders who are adequately trained to meet the new customs requirements?
• In your view, is there a risk that additional checks on the EU side will disrupt the flow of goods between the UK and EU?