Clifford Chance
Relieved? UK and EU agree post-Brexit deal
27 December 2020
On 24 December 2020, after roller-coaster negotiations, the United Kingdom and the European Union announced they had agreed a post-Brexit "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation" Agreement.
On 1 January 2021, the transition period ends, and the UK leaves the EU Single Market and the Customs Union. The EU-UK Agreement provides for zero tariffs and quotas. It represents a fundamental shift in the EU-UK relationship with substantially reduced market access but greater UK autonomy. This briefing examines what it covers, what it doesn't, and what happens next.
The Agreement runs to 1,246 pages and the EU plans to bring it into provisional application on 1 January 2021 before being fully ratified. The UK plans to fully ratify the Agreement by the end of 2020.
