Brexit and House of Commons Library briefing papers on trade and product standards and safety marking in the event of a "no deal".

On 12th September 2019 the House of Commons Library, which is proving to be an invaluable research source for Brexit-related material, published two briefing papers, one on trade and the other on product standards and safety marking, explaining the implications of a "no deal" Brexit in those areas and what steps are being taken to address them.

The trade briefing paper examines UK trade with the EU in goods and services and how it will be affected by a "no deal" scenario; UK preparations for an independent trade policy with non-EU countries; and preparations by the UK, EU and individual EU member states for a "no deal" Brexit. It is a very useful summary of the current state of play in all these areas.

The product standards and safety marking briefing paper contains an introduction to product standards and explains the so -called EU New Legislative Framework and describes the operation of the EU product safety regime and finishes with sections on the impact of a "no deal" Brexit on the product safety regime in both the UK and EU and what a "no deal" Brexit means for manufacturers placing products on the UK market or on the EU market post- Brexit. It seems clear at least that as of now  both the UK and the  EU sides wish to preserve as much as possible of the current seamless approach  on product safety and safety marking matters for future benefit and the focus is on how to achieve it.

The two briefing papers do demonstrate that good work is being done in the areas covered by the papers to address the consequences of a "no deal" Brexit.