Navigating the Road Ahead: Beyond Trade Wars and Brexit

17 September 2019

In appointing his Cabinet, the new Prime Minister Boris Johnson made far-reaching changes that shifted the government decisively towards a rapid conclusion of the Brexit process, potentially leaving on 31 October 2019 without a deal if so required.

However, an alliance of opposition parties and (now former) Conservative MPs opposed to no-deal has passed legislation that will require the prime minister to seek another extension of Article 50 beyond 31 October should no deal be agreed by the EU and the UK.

So, with the Parliament having been prorogued until mid-October, we are still faced with considerable uncertainty, particularly with the unknown outcome of a possible snap election sitting in the background and the outside possibility that the UK may still leave the EU on Halloween.

Companies should continue to prepare no-deal contingency arrangements. Indeed, we have seen a number of retailers publicly setting out their Brexit stall:

On one side of the fence, we have Lord Wolfson, Chief Executive of Next Plc, who says, “better preparations under Boris Johnson have improved the UK’s prospects” and “The encouraging thing is that we are rapidly moving from the gridlock and chaos camp into the well-prepared camp.”

On the other side, we have Lidl’s Irish business confirming that “All existing Lidl contracts contain a DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) clause.” In essence, Lidl has confirmed that its British suppliers will be responsible for additional tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

In this edition, we will focus on:

• Brexit Update 
• Practical Steps for UK Retailers to Prepare for a No-deal Brexit
• Trade, Customs Duties and Tariffs
• Views From Inside the EU27
• Sector Analysis

The full report can be downladed here: Navigating the Road Ahead: Beyond Trade Wars and Brexit