EU Exit

The UK left the Customs Union and Single Market arrangement with the EU on 31 December 2020.

Following the June 2016 UK referendum vote to leave the EU and subsequent Government invocation of Article 50 in March 2017, the UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020 and left the European Customs Union and Single Market on 31 December 2020. Northern Ireland remained under the jurisdiction of the Customs Union. The UK Government and European Commission reached an agreement — called the Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA) — which came into effect on 1 January 2021. The changes to trade procedures between the UK and the EU 27 are substantial. The TCA will be reviewed in full in 2026.