Brexit “awful for the UK plywood market”

“Brexit has been awful for the market, with uncertainty affecting demand, projects delayed and households deferring spending,” said a UK plywood importer. “Merchants are saying it’s quieter, which in turn affects us as importers.”, reports ITTO.

UK plywood companies say they are also keeping a ‘watching brief’ on the potential impact of Brexit on EUTR and EU FLEGT regulation administration. Both are being assimilated into UK law, to be known respectively as the UKTR and UK FLEGT when the country leaves the EU.

The Brexit date is now scheduled for 31st January and, following the UK parliamentary election on 12th December which delivered a large majority for the ruling conservative party, seems to certain to take place as planned under the revised withdrawal agreement negotiated between Boris Johnson’s government and the European Union in 2019.

Under the terms of this withdrawal agreement, the UK will enter a transition period after 31st January to provide time for the UK and the EU to negotiate on what their future relationship will look like. During the transition period the UK won’t be a member of the EU but will still have to abide by its rules.

The end date for the transition period is currently set for 31st December 2020 but could be extended for one or two years. During the election campaign, the conservative party stated that it would not seek an extension to the transition period.

However, the EU has suggested that the timeline for negotiations to be completed before the end of 2020 is unrealistic. The size of the government’s majority after the election also gives the UK prime minister leeway within his own party to reset the timetable to be more manageable. The terms of any extension would have to be agreed with the EU before 1st July 2020.