Brexit is now entering a new dance hall.
On January 31st 2020 the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. After a transition period of eleven months, the UK leaves the EU Customs territory and the Customs Union.
The General Election of the United Kingdom became a Brexit election. The people wanted to 'get Brexit done'.
There is no doubt that the outcome of the UK General election yesterday has removed some of the uncertainty around Brexit.
The Conservatives won a 'landslide victory' in the election and reach their best result since Margaret Thatcher's days.
The results:
Conservatives 364, Labour 203, Scottish National Party (SNP), 48 and Liberal democrats 11, DUP 8, Sinn Fein (NI) 7, Plaid Cymru (Wales) 4, Green Party 1.
The solid majority for the Conservatives in the House of Commons means that Brexit will now happen.
Boris Johnson promised in his victory speech "to get Brexit done". Johnson said: "I will put an end to all that nonsense and we will get Brexit done on time by the January 31 - no ifs, no buts, no maybes".
Priti Patel, Home Secretary of Johnson's government, promised in the Sky News election studio that the government will start the Brexit process on Monday. She promised that both Houses of Parliament will work over the holiday season to get Brexit legislation in place, "UK leaves EU on 31/1".
The result is also a disaster for the opposition, especially for the Labour Party that delivered its the worst result since 1935.
Jeremy Corbyn announced that "he would not resign as Labor leader immediately and would instead oversee a reflection process in the party".
Some well-known politicians lost their seats in Parliament; including Dominique Grieve, the former Conservative minister (and Johnson's biggest detractor) did not get re-elected and the Liberal Democrats party leader Jo Swinson lost her seat in Parliament. Also, Nigel Dodds, the DUP's leader in Westminister lost his place in Parliament.
So what does this outcome mean? Brexit will be done. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be adopted by the House of Commons before the holiday season. The House of Lords will be asked to work fast over the holiday season to bot delay the new legislation.
The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on January 31st. During a transition period of eleven months to December 31st, UK and EU will negotiate a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and future relations, including the customs processes for Northern Ireland and the English Channel border.
Many people say that this impossible to do in eleven months. These are the same people that said that the Withdrawal Agreement could not be re-opened, re-negotiated and the backstop could not be removed in three months. But it could:
To do an FTA and to agree on future relations and alternative arrangements in even months is very, very difficult, but not impossible. There are also factors that could indicate a faster process than in many previous examples.
I will write more about this in the following weeks.
What does the General Election result mean for international trade and businesses?
This means that Brexit will happen and that we have a time plan for when it will happen.
Now is the time to do everything to prepare for Brexit. Don't make the mistake of waiting. There is no time to wait. It is time for Brexit.
South America is taking the lead on AEO and Trusted Trader Development. Perhaps a road also for the United Kingdom to follow post-BREXIT?
Last week Prime Minister Boris Johnson on behalf of UK Government agreed a new Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (WA) with the European Union. This meant that Boris Johnson actually got the EU to open the previous WA, to change the agreement and to remove the backstop – all things that previously was said impossible to do.
On Wednesday September 18th UK Government, the Treasury (FST) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officially launched the UK Customs Academy at an event at the House of Commons in Westminister, London.