Brexit

Content Overview

Brexit was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community on 31 January 2020. Following the UK’s exit on 31 January 2020 the UK entered a Transition Period. Trade, travel and freedom of movement remained largely unchanged during this period. The transition period ended on 31 December 2020. A number of EU laws have been retained in the UK with amendments known as EU Exit amendments.

Brexit has had a significant impact on product safety markings. As a result of Brexit two new markings have been introduced:

• UKCA: The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is a new UK product marking that is used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). It covers most goods which previously required the CE marking.
• UKNI: The UKNI marking is a new conformity marking for products placed on the market in Northern Ireland which have undergone mandatory third-party conformity assessment by a body based in the UK. This mark is to be accompanied with the CE mark.

The government has laid legislation to continue recognition of current EU requirements, including the CE marking on the UK market indefinitely. This means businesses will have the flexibility to use either the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) or CE marking to sell products in Great Britain (GB).

Coverage Included

Our regulatory content in C2P is historically comprehensive with a robust QA process to ensure quality, consistency and accuracy. Below is a high level summary of our coverage for this topic:

• UK: European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 “Great Repeal” Bill
• UK: Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations, SI No. 2024/696
• UK: REACH etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/758
• UK: Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/696
• UK: Construction Products (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations, SI 2019/465
• UK: Communications Act (e-Commerce) (EU Exit), Regulations, SI No. 2020/1420
• UK: Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations, S.I. 2019/539