While recent weeks have brought disappoint, with news of frustrated efforts from British negotiators to secure a single market arrangement, UK-EU 'reset' talks continue.
At a joint summit between the two parties, anticipated to be held later this summer, it’s expected that announcements will be made on three areas of cooperation:
· A sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to reduce checks and documentary requirements on agri-goods trade
· Formalise the linking of both parties’ emissions trading systems, which impact cross-border taxes like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
· A youth mobility scheme enabling people to travel, study and work across the EU and UK
Ahead of that summit, Global Trade Today asked you, our readers, to get in touch with your opinions on the Labour administration’s attempts to ‘reset’ relations with the EU.
Commercial samples a ‘customs hindrance’
One issue that I would love to be addressed during the summit: sending product samples to EU companies from the UK.
At the moment, every sample is treated as if it is a standard export order that needs an EU importer with an Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) number, and duty and import VAT has to be paid before delivery is attempted.
As samples are often sent to buying departments and/or buyers, the receiving company does not want to ‘import’ samples as if they were standard goods. Often the UK company sending the samples is not even a registered supplier. After all, that is the purpose of sending samples: to become listed as a supplier.
It would be a great help if this rule for sending out samples – especially from UK manufacturers who have preferential trade status with the EU – could be revised so that we can send samples without customs hindrance.
We could use a special customs code, limit the value or the quantity etc.
Martin Onderdonck, international sales manager, What More UK Ltd
‘Complete reset’ needed
It has been proven, without doubt, that Brexit caused huge (if not deliberate) damage, both to trade and GB-EU relationships, and it is with relief that we see efforts now to rebuild and repair that damage!
Given the volatility of politics on the other side of the Atlantic, it’s all the more important now that we try to recover our lost sales and relationship to EU markets; especially for SMEs.
It can only get better – but this will require a single market agreement. As a Europhile and export professional now into my 50th year of UK export development, having spent years building sales opportunities into EU markets, I can only recommend a complete reset and, better still, EU membership, along with the ability to live and travel freely!
Martin Morris FCIEx, founder, Consulting Nordics
'Structural, non-tariff barriers' a burden
One year after the reset, the relationship between the UK and the European Union still remains well-defined by a central paradox: while tariff-free trade has been well-kept-up under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, non-tariff barriers continue unabated to shape the lived reality of cross-border trade. This reflects the deeper structural outcome of Brexit – a shift from regulatory integration to regulatory independence.
From a trade systems viewpoint, the frictions presently experienced are not transitional but structural. Customs declarations, rules of origin requirements and regulatory checks – particularly in agri-food and manufacturing – have initiated persistent costs and delays. These are especially burdensome for SMEs, many of which lack the administrative capacity to absorb increased compliance requirements.
With respect to this context, the “reset” epitomises an important diplomatic and operational shift – from confrontation toward practical cooperation. However, its success will eventually hang on whether it can bring about measurable declines in trade friction. Incremental improvements in border processes and data-sharing are invaluable, but they do not fully address the fundamental issue: regulatory divergence.
Projecting into the future, the most consequential area for progress lies in improved regulatory cooperation and, where possible, mutual recognition. Although full alignment may not be politically worthwhile, targeted recognition in crucial sectors – such as agri-food standards, industrial goods conformity assessments, and professional qualifications – could significantly reduce compliance duplication and restore efficiency to trade flows.
Beyond the UK-EU corridor, there is also a strategic opportunity for the UK to influence its post-Brexit litheness in strengthening trade relationships with emerging markets, including across Africa. Nevertheless, the same lesson applies: market access in modern trade is progressively determined not by tariffs, but by regulatory recognition and system compatibility. This is specifically relevant for countries such as Ghana, where alignment with EU standards does not routinely translate into UK market access, highlighting the need for purposeful regulatory diplomacy.
Ernest Oduro Adjei, Chartered Institute member
