Mary Christine Delicia M, SRM School of Law
Mahalingam, SRM School of Law
Introduction
The impact of Brexit on international trade agreements is far-reaching. For decades, the UK’s trade relations were intricately linked with the EU’s single market and customs union, benefiting from the EU’s comprehensive network of trade agreements with third countries. As part of the EU, the UK enjoyed preferential access to over 70 countries through EU trade agreements. However, Brexit signified the UK’s departure from this multilateral framework, requiring it to operate under its own sovereign trade policies and legal structures. This newfound independence comes with both challenges and opportunities in navigating international trade agreements.
One of the immediate consequences of Brexit was the legal and logistical complexity of disentangling the UK from the EU’s trade agreements. During the transition period, which ended on December 31, 2020, the UK retained access to EU trade deals, but this grace period provided limited time to establish independent agreements with the same or new terms. The Withdrawal Agreement set the framework for this transition, but the process of renegotiating or rolling over trade deals with non-EU countries presented numerous legal and economic hurdles. The UK’s return to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules marked a significant shift, as it now had to align its trade policies with multilateral rules while also managing bilateral trade negotiations.
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