At 23:00 local time on January 31 in London, which is 7 a.m. on February 1, Beijing time, the UK officially exited the EU. On January 31, Brussels, Belgium, where the EU headquarters is located, did not hold any special activities because of the UK’s official “Brexit”. The EU “quietly” said goodbye to the UK.
EU agencies remove British flag
In the evening, a few hours before the UK officially “Brexit”, at the entrance of the European Council building in Brussels, two staff members removed the flags originally placed with those of other EU countries. Union Jack together, the whole process took less than a minute. It is understood that this British flag that has witnessed history may be collected in a museum in Brussels. About 25 minutes later, outside the European Parliament building in Brussels, the British flag on the flagpole was also lowered. This British flag will also be collected into a museum.
On the afternoon of January 31, local time, the UK had removed the EU flag outside its representative office in Brussels, leaving only the British flag on the flagpole.
Leaders of the three major EU institutions: I wish the UK all the best
On January 31, local time, the leaders of the three major EU institutions—the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council—collectively discussed the future of UK-EU relations in Brussels. give a speech. All three leaders said they “wish the UK all the best” and vowed to resolutely defend the interests of the EU in future UK-EU negotiations.
European Commission President von der Leyen, European Parliament Speaker Sassoli and European Council President Michel said at a joint press conference on January 31 that after the UK withdraws from the EU The rights and interests of EU members will “never be comparable to the benefits they enjoy as members of the European Union”.
European Commission President von der Leyen: We want to have the best possible relationship with the UK, but this relationship can never be like that with member states. Experience tells us that we cannot be strong in isolation, but only within our unique alliances.
Von der Leyen said that the EU will resolutely defend its interests in future UK-EU negotiations. According to the agreement reached by the UK and the EU, the Brexit transition period will begin on February 1. During the transition period, the UK will not only have to renegotiate its relations with EU countries, but also consider its current economic and trade relations with countries outside the EU that have been reached within the EU framework, and negotiations on the UK-EU trade agreement will become the focus. Sassoli said that after the UK leaves the EU, the UK and the EU will enter a new stage of negotiations, and relevant parties will make arduous efforts to this end. Michel also emphasized that if the UK chooses to deviate from EU standards, it will mean that the UK will not be able to fully access the European single market.
CCTV reporter Yang Hong said that free trade negotiations will start in about a month, and “fairness” is expected to become the dominant topic. If the two sides still fail to reach an agreement before the transition period at the end of 2020, the final outcome may still be a no-deal Brexit. Of course, there is another possibility, which is to extend the transition period, but it is still unknown whether the UK and the EU are willing to run another marathon and whether both sides can afford it.
The United Kingdom issues 3 million “Brexit” commemorative coins
On January 31, local time, the United Kingdom issued a “Brexit” commemorative coin with a face value of 50 pence (approximately 4.5 yuan). The commemorative coin is engraved with the words “Sharing Peace, Prosperity and Friendship” and the date “January 31, 2020”.
On that day, the United Kingdom issued 3 million such commemorative coins, and an additional 7 million will be issued within the year. It is understood that the “Brexit” commemorative coin was originally scheduled to be issued on October 31, 2019, but due to the postponement of “Brexit” to January 31, 2020, the issuance date of the commemorative coin was also postponed.
Since 1973, when the United Kingdom joined the European Community, the predecessor of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the European Union have been bedfellows for 46 years, and now they have finally broken up. So the question is, what impact will Brexit have on foreign trade and logistics? How should textile and apparel companies respond? During the remaining 11-month transition period, everything will continue as usual. British EORI can still be cleared in other European countries and is valid until December 31, 2020.
The main impact on trade after Brexit
1 , EU customized tariffs are no longer applicable
The EU’s regional integration has the nature of a customs union, setting common tariffs externally and achieving trade liberalization internally. This means that each member state has transferred its tariff-setting powers to the EU and cannot independently negotiate trade agreements with other countries outside the alliance.
After Brexit, Sino-British trade will operate in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, and the UK will make certain adjustments to Sino-British trade policies based on its own national conditions.
2. Customs clearance of goods entering and exiting the EU and the UK has become complicated
It turns out that under the EU’s unified customs system, goods entering and exiting the EU do not need to undergo repeated customs clearance and taxation procedures. After Brexit, there will be independent customs operating systems between the UK and the EU. �Among countries and regions, exports to China had the highest growth rate, reaching 32.2%.
4. Analysis of the UK’s import source countries: China is the UK’s fourth largest import source
From a country (region) perspective, In 2018, among the top 15 countries and regions that import goods from the UK, imports from Canada and Japan experienced negative growth, while the rest all experienced positive growth. Germany is the UK’s top source of imports, with an import value of US$92.39 billion, accounting for 14.2% of the UK’s total imports. Secondly, the UK’s imports from the United States, the Netherlands, China and France were US$63.60 billion, US$55.49 billion, US$53.76 billion and US$38.10 billion respectively, accounting for 9.8%, 8.5%, 8.2% and 5.8% of the UK’s total imports respectively. To sum up, China is the UK’s fourth largest source of imports.
Chinese and English Bilateral trade development trends
The “Brexit” process
Brexit originated from Cameron’s decision in the 2013 election campaign. Commitment to finally confirm Brexit through a referendum on June 23, 2016. Cameron then resigned and Theresa May became Prime Minister. On March 29, 2017, Theresa May sent a letter to the European Union, officially opening the Brexit process. Afterwards, the UK and the EU conducted multiple rounds of negotiations, but there was still no substantial progress on several key issues. In March 2018, the EU and the UK reached an agreement on the Brexit transition terms. The transition period will last for 21 months. Ends December 2020. In June 2018, the UK officially ended its membership of the EU. In July, the UK released a Brexit White Paper, outlining its post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
The EU leaders’ summit on April 10, 2019 formally agreed to the UK’s request to extend the final date of Brexit to October 31, avoiding the possibility that the UK would leave the EU in April. The risk of leaving the EU without an agreement on March 12. Although the EU has given the UK ample time for discussion, and Prime Minister May has also begun discussions with the Labor Party on a cross-party cooperation plan, and the situation is developing in a good direction, it must also be recognized that the haze of the extreme situation has not dissipated. Judging from the progress of negotiations and games between the British Parliament and the government in the past two years, the past six months cannot fully guarantee the emergence of a proper Brexit plan that is satisfactory to all parties. In the extreme scenario, the UK still has a no-deal Brexit that exceeds market expectations. possible.
The impact of “Brexit” on Sino-British bilateral trade
Undoubtedly, the “Brexit” plan is bound to have a certain impact on the development of Sino-British bilateral trade. Brexit will change the world economic landscape and have a series of impacts on Sino-British trade. On the one hand, the UK no longer enjoys zero tariff and other preferential trade conditions as an EU member state, which will weaken the import and export trade relations between the UK and EU member states, thereby increasing opportunities for Sino-British trade cooperation and expanding the scale of Sino-British trade import and export. Implement a new Sino-British trade policy. On the other hand, Brexit will affect China’s import and export balance with the UK, which may result in a decrease in the trade balance.
Brexit has brought both opportunities and challenges to the development of Sino-British trade. China should seize the opportunity to negotiate and reach a consensus with the United Kingdom on relevant trade facilitation conditions, and strive to bring more benefits to our country, while reducing export trade costs, constantly developing new products, and enhancing international trade competitiveness, thereby winning more trade share; at the same time, China must also be fully prepared for the challenges that will come, actively adjust its currency and exchange rate policies, and do a good job of observing the pound exchange rate to respond in a timely manner to the impact of the fall of the pound on Sino-UK trade. influence, thereby optimizing the Sino-British trade structure and fundamentally promoting the trade development between China and the UK.
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