Council Authorises Opening of Negotiations with WTO Members on Brexit-related Adjustments

In preparation for the UK's withdrawal from the EU, the Council today authorised the Commission to open formal negotiations within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on how to divide up existing EU tariff rate quotas (TRQs) between the EU27 and the UK.

After Brexit, the EU will continue to apply its scheduled commitments for goods, but its existing quantitative commitments, in particular the TRQs for agricultural, fish and industrial products, will require adjustments to take into account the fact that the EU's WTO schedule will no longer be applicable to the UK.

In October 2017, the EU and the UK informed WTO members in a joint letter of their approach for apportioning the existing EU tariff quotas and began informal talks with partners. The proposed approach would provide for an apportionment based on an objective methodology reflecting existing levels of market access and trade flows under each TRQ.