The UK's departure from the EU has led to the creation of separate regulatory frameworks, resulting in substantial barriers to trade across various sectors. The existence of divergent regulations has led to a surge in costs and a decline in efficiency, undermining trade potential.
In order to ensure successful regulatory alignment and reduce barriers to trade between the UK and EU, the UK Government should seek to establish a new forum, modelled on the successful US/Canadian regulatory cooperation council.
This new regulatory cooperation council would allow the UK and EU to maintain an open dialogue and forum to discuss regulatory alignment, and discuss regulatory divergence in a collaborative manner when necessary.
1. The UK should establish a UK-EU Regulatory Cooperation Council with the EU to maintain collaboration on regulatory matters between the UK and the EU.
2. The UK-EU Regulatory Cooperation Council should meet on an annual basis and build on commitments made in the Windsor Framework, protecting Northern Ireland’s position in the UK union and on the island of Ireland.
3. The UK should commit to a predictable approach to regulation and to consultation, impact assessments and adjustment times, should the UK decide to adopt regulations different from those in the EU.