Implications of Brexit for your relation with Kiwa

On March 29, 2017, the UK officially submitted the notification pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which will lead to the country leaving the EU. The actual leaving process has started and negotiations between the UK and the EU are well underway. According to plan, starting March 30, 2019, European legislation will cease to apply to the United Kingdom.

Following this move, the UK will become a third country in relation to the remaining EU Member States. UK based manufacturers and importers will become importers who import products from a third country into the Union market. Consequently, they will need to meet the requirements applicable to importers.

Brexit will probably also have consequences for customers relying on (product) certification and approvals to access both European and UK markets. The same applies to Notified Bodies. A Notified Body must be established in and designated by an EU Member State notifying authority in order to perform activities as part of a conformity assessment. From the moment Brexit takes effect, UK Notified Bodies will lose their status as European Notified Bodies.

Whether or not a transition treaty may be signed and/or arrangements can be agreed for Notified Bodies and their customers, is unclear yet. In the event of a ‘hard’ Brexit or the absence of a transition or full UK-EU treaty, it is possible that  UK and EU Notified Bodies’ certificates may not be mutually recognized or deemed valid.

Kiwa is monitoring developments closely. Thanks to our geographical coverage and extensive network, we are well placed to support our customers in both the UK, the EU and abroad. Most importantly: we’ll make sure you’ll be able to access UK markets from the EU and vice-versa with your Kiwa testing and inspection reports and certificates.We sincerely hope that future arrangements will be defined soon. After all, a smoothly operating Testing, Inspection and Certification (TIC) sector is essential for effective trading and meeting your needs.

We will keep you updated on developments.