UK enters trade deal with Norway, Liechtenstein & Iceland, strikes leeway around post-Brexit border bureaucracy

 International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss has accomplished trade deal between UK and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The deal would enable use of digital paperwork to effectively cut down time and cost around cross border post-Brexit trade bureaucracy. The comprehensive deal was achieved following months long talks and being lauded by British and Norwegian governments as ground breaking and pioneer in establishing tariff free trade in industrial goods sector.

Under the deal, British companies can export to Iceland and Norway through electronic documentation to ease out strenuous customs procedures that are required post-Brexit. Truss noted that already strong economic partnership between nations, that is worth £21.6bn, would be further bolstered along with “supporting jobs and prosperity in all four nations at home”.

According to the new trade deal, Norway has reduced duties across 26 sectors of agriculture, which includes allowing a quantity of West Country farmhouse cheddar, Orkney Scottish Island cheddar, traditional Welsh caerphilly, and Yorkshire wensleydale cheese to avoid full 277% export tariffs. But the total quota of UK cheese which can be sold in Norway free of tariff has not increased.

The deal also allows highly skilled professionals from UK to enter Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein for business reasons. It includes recognition of professional qualification ensuring skilled professionals like nurses, lawyers and others are not required to obtain re-qualification in order to work in these nations.

Norwegian government celebrated that under the new trade deal there will be zero duty on frozen peeled shrimp, which is a key export, effective from 1 January 2023. Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, Norway’s fisheries minister said, “The agreement entails a continuation of all previous tariff preferences for seafood and improved market access for whitefish, shrimp and several other products. For the shrimp industry on Senja and the land industry in northern Norway, this will be of great importance.”

Erna Solberg, Norway’s prime minister celebrated striking a deal with UK, which is second largest trade partner after EU. But she noted that its inevitable for the trade to be “more bureaucratic and less dynamic” than pre-Brexit dealings.

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