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On 4th June of 2021 UK announced post-Brexit trade deal with Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. The main purpose behind the trade deal was to save time and lower cost consumption. It is considered that the development of digital paperwork will boost international trade.
All involved governments support this idea of electronic documentation. Moreover, this will help to overcome the difficulties in customs procedures created after Brexit. In fact, UK and Norway also agreed on tariff-free trade in industrial goods secured. The agreement covers 21.6 billion pounds in trade.
Other benefit of the trade deal will affect international traveling. In other words, mobile operators will not be allowed to charge for international mobile roaming. Moreover, highly qualified professionals as, for example, nurses, lawyers, veterinarians will not need to requalify to work in the partner countries.
From Norwegian side they are pleased that the agreement entails a continuation of all previous tariff preferences for seafood and improved market access for whitefish, shrimp and several other products. According to Norway’s prime minister UK is the second biggest Norway’s trading partner and this agreement was essential. Although there will be additional costs in certain sectors they will be similar to the ones applied when UK was still in the EU. The total amount of the costs and other regulatory frameworks would demand further talks in future.
One of the main factors to start trade negotiations was to benefit relationship between UK and Norway: Norway wants to improve the terms created for their seafood trade, however, UK wants greater access to Norwegian meat and diary product market. In the end both governments did not come to a conclusion to change these matters, since UK and Norway want to protect their small businesses.
Even though UK’s trade with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein has been covered by a continuity deal that covered goods since the UK left the single market, involved parties were interested in developing the system even more. Important to highlight that over 20% Norway’s export go to the UK.
On the one hand, this free trade agreement provides better trading conditions than World Trade Organization terms, on the other hand, it may bring considerably more trade barriers when comparing with the single market relationship which was implemented previously.
