In recent weeks the Government has published papers with guidance on how to prepare if the UK leaves the EU with no deal on 29 March 2019. Among the papers published on 23 August was Trading with the EU if there’s no Brexit deal which includes important guidance for anyone importing from the EU or exporting to the EU after 29 March 2019 if there is no deal.  We will update members on the implications of this guidance as we move forward.

A paper published on 13 September Trading goods regulated under the ‘New Approach’ if there’s no Brexit deal generally reflects the position as we have discussed with BEIS, the Government department for Business Energy and Technical Strategy. The paper would apply to the products we currently place on the market under the Lifts Directive and Machinery Directive (and also to other New Approach Directives).

Under a no-deal we understand that from 29 March 2019:

• lifts, safety components for lifts, lifting appliances, escalators and moving walks meeting EU requirements could be placed on the UK market for a limited time.
• UK Notified Bodies would become UK “Approved Bodies”.
• UK essential requirements will be identical to EU essential requirements.
• There would be a new mark to replace the CE Mark but details for this were not released.
• Existing harmonised standards such as BS EN 81-20, BS EN 115-1 and others will become UK ”designated standards”, used to demonstrate conformity with UK essential requirements.
• Conformity assessment carried out by UK Notified Bodies would not be recognised in the EU 27. This is in line with the earlier paper published by the European Commission.

Companies who might be affected by using UK Notified Bodies for type examination of safety components, type of examination of lifts, unit verification of lifts and design examination of lifts to be placed onto the market of EU 27 should check with their notified body.  Some UK Notified Bodies are also establishing themselves in the EU 27.  This means that, it the event of a no-deal Brexit, there would be no step-change in the essential safety requirements of the UK regulations and we would still continue to apply the same standards.  This is very much in line with our earlier discussions with BEIS.

There are many other implications of a no deal Brexit covered on the Government’s website which is essential reading for those planning for a no deal contingency.

The EU summit meeting 17-18 October has been suggested as a deadline for an agreement setting out the terms of UK-EU “divorce”.  Our view is that this timescale is now looking optimistic making it more likely that final agreement might not be reached until November or even December.  This obviously leaves little time for ratification by the UK parliament and by the EU, or for planning in the event of a no agreement.

Government guidance, even after the Salzburg EU meetings, has been that a no deal is unlikely.

We are in regular dialogue with the relevant UK government departments, government agencies and Notified Bodies and will continue to issue guidance to our members as we move closer to Brexit on 29 March 2019.

Article by LEIA