UK Government Outlines Position on Non-Restricted Market Goods and Access to Documents

The UK government has published a series of position papers concerning goods and the confidentiality and access to official documents ahead of the third round of Brexit negotiations.

The position papers outlining the UK’s negotiating approach to goods on the market and to confidentiality and access to official documents have been published today, on 21 August 2017, ahead of the third round of negotiations with the European Union.

The documents outline the British government’s view that a smooth and orderly exit from the union is in the interests of both the EU and the UK, along with their businesses and consumers.

The papers lay out the following UK positions. Firstly, regarding goods on the market, the UK has stated it is seeking an agreement with the EU which allows “the freest and most frictionless trade possible in goods and services, to the benefit of all.”

The paper outlines four main principles for what the British government considers to be a smooth and orderly withdrawal from the EU in regard to the availability of goods, including: ensuring that goods already on the market before the official exit day can continue to be sold in the UK and EU, without additional requirements or restrictions; the avoidance of what is perceived as unnecessary duplication of compliance activities that have been undertaken by businesses prior to brexit; facilitating the continued oversight of products to ensure the necessary action can be taken for non-compliant or unsafe goods; finally, no restrictiobs to the provision of goods and services.

Regarding the second topic of the papers, confidentiality and access to documents, the UK government outlined how it considers it important to establish a framework for the continued respect of obligations of confidentiality and the protection of official documents exchanged while it was a Member State. Following the UK’s withdrawal, the British government considers that the necessary protections concerning both UK and EU data should be on equivalent terms to those laid out in existing regimes.