Rules of Origin: Check your goods comply to trade tariff-free with the EU

Date: Thursday 28 January 2021

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Business Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has issued a statement on how BEIS is helping businesses understand how to adapt to the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU.

BEIS is taking steps to make the process of adjusting to the new environment as simple as possible and to help businesses make the most of new opportunities in 2021.

One of the important changes is Rules of Origin. Rules of Origin concerns where a product was manufactured and determines the ‘economic nationality’ of a good for international trade. Businesses need to know about them because the Trade and Cooperation Agreement means they can trade with the EU without paying tariffs – but only if their product meets the relevant Rules of Origin.

To export tariff-free into the EU traders must check their goods meet the Rules of Origin requirements set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and have the right documentation. To confirm the requirements for your goods and to find out more about the support available, businesses are encouraged to:

• Check for details on how to claim preferential (zero) tariffs, and see the documentation that will need to be completed.
• Read the full guidance on meeting Rules of Origin when trading with the EU.
• Check the TCA legal text to see which rules apply to goods (Chapter 2 as well as Annexes ORIG-1 to ORIG-4 will be most useful). (See attachment below).

Rules of Origin is one of the topics explained in the new on-demand videos which focus on priority topics for businesses. Businesses can also use the Brexit Checker tool on gov.uk/transition, which will provide a personalised list of the most up to date actions that a business needs to take.

For any further queries or general business advice businesses can contact the dedicated BEIS business support helplines or ask customs and tax related queries and other border related queries on one of their forums. There is specific guidance and training on moving goods into, out of, or through Northern Ireland on gov.uk.

 

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