With Brexit now a done deal, Nick Peksa investigates what the new protocols between the EU and UK will mean for food and beverage trade. This article first appeared in ESM Issue 1 2021.
On 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom officially left the EU single market and customs union. Trade between the EU, Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain was one of the hardest issues to resolve. The UK desperately wanted to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland (an EU member), however, Brussels was wary of creating a back door into the EU bloc.
In a Thatcher-esque move, the UK leveraged its only bargaining chip, its coastal waters and fishing rights.
