Impact of Brexit on businesses

On 24 December 2020, the EU and the UK concluded their negotiations on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and the complementary agreements on the security of classified information and nuclear cooperation. The TCA entered into force on 1 January 2021.

Many things changed when the UK exited the EU single market and the Customs Union on 1 January 2021, as the UK and the EU are now two separate market areas with different regulations and laws. The new relationship is clearly more distant than it was before, which means increased paperwork and costs for businesses doing trade between the EU and the UK. Even if the TCA is comprehensive and certain products are offered duty-free and quota-free trade access to the markets of the parties, the agreement does not replace the single market. The free movement of goods, services, capital and people ceased to be in force on 1 January 2021. Therefore, there will be major changes to trade between the EU and the UK despite the conclusion of the TCA.

How these changes will affect an individual company depends on factors such as the company’s field of activity, location and position in the production chain. Some of the changes are product-specific.

EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement I European Commission
Information on the agreement I European Commission

More information for businesses

The EU has trade agreements with some 70 countries. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU single market and the Customs Union means that as of 1 January 2021, the UK is no longer covered by EU trade agreements.

This means that when it comes to products that a company exports from the EU to the EU’s free trade agreement (FTA) partner countries, any content produced in the UK can no longer be considered to be of “EU origin”.

When exporting products from the UK to the UK’s FTA partner countries, companies must comply with the terms of the UK agreements.

More information on the terms and conditions of exports to EU trade agreement countries I European Commission
More information on the UK’s trade agreements I Gov.uk
The withdrawal agreement will protect the residence and working rights of EU citizens and their family members residing legally and in the UK at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, on the one hand, and of UK citizens and their family members residing legally in the EU Member States at the end of the transition period on the other.

As of January 2021, free movement between the EU and the UK will cease and the entry of students and workers from EU Member States moving to the UK after the transition period will be subject to UK migration legislation.

Similarly, the entry of UK citizens into the EU will be subject to the migration legislation of the Member States, unless they fall within the scope of the withdrawal agreement.
More information from Finland I Finnish Immigration Service

Entry into the UK and stay in the UK are governed by the UK Aliens Act.
More information from the UK I Gov.uk

More information on the effects of the withdrawal agreement on EU citizens residing legally in the UK and UK citizens residing legally in the EU
The trade and economic relationship between the EU and the UK will create a general framework for negotiations on mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the future.
The EU single market facilitates the recognition of professional qualifications. As of 1 January 2021, the UK is no longer covered by this facilitation. Instead, the recognition of professional qualifications acquired in the UK will take place in accordance with the national rules of each EU Member State on the recognition of qualifications from countries outside the EU and EEA. Similarly, professional qualifications acquired in the EU will be recognised in the UK in accordance with its national rules.

Any decisions on recognition made in Finland before the end of the transition period in accordance with the directive on the recognition of professional qualifications (2005/36/EC) will remain valid, meaning that people whose qualifications have been recognised will retain their rights after the transition period.

More information from Finland I Finnish National Agency for Education
More information from the UK I Gov.uk
As of 1 January 2021, the UK and the EU are two separate market areas with different regulations and laws. All products traded between the EU and the UK are now subject to customs duty. The EU–UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement provides certain facilitations to customs procedures.

These include duty-free and quota-free treatment of goods if the rules of origin of the product are met, meaning that the product has been manufactured to a sufficient extent in the territory of the EU or the UK. If the origin cannot be established, the product will be subject to “erga omnes” duties.

The rules of origin are product-specific. To find out which rules apply, you will need the product’s customs code.

More information from Finland I Finnish Customs
More information on EU import tariffs I European Commission
More information from the UK I Gov.uk
More information on UK tariffs I Gov.uk