As part of our work with the UK Trade and Business Commission, we produced a list of 114 recommendations to help solve some of the major problems with the Brexit deal first signed in 2020. Since publishing, 47 of those recommendations have been adopted – here’s the full list.

  1. Create a council for the UK and EU to work together on regulations, making trading easier.
  2. Agree to meet with the EU every year to discuss regulations and protect the Windsor Framework.
  3. If the UK decides not to follow EU regulations, assess the cost and timeframe of doing so, and consult with the EU. 
  4. Commit to high food standards matching those in the EU, making it easier for UK producers to sell into Europe.
  5. Strengthen UK controls over chemicals in food, matching EU standards.
  6. Match EU rules on pesticide safety to protect consumers. 
  7. Closely monitor residues of substances like pesticides and veterinary medicines in food, matching EU standards.
  8. Make sure all food imported into the UK meets the same high standards as food produced here.
  9. Commit to not lowering standards on food safety, animal welfare or the environment in order to strike new trade deals.
  10. Negotiate an SPS agreement with the EU, boosting trade for farmers, producers and fishers, and choice for consumers.
  11. Keep the same organic food standards and rules as the EU to make trading easier.
  12. Work with the EU to monitor and enforce high organic food standards across the board.
  13. Take a leading role in the setting of international standards, especially where it’s in the UK’s interests to do so.
  14. Agree to regular communication with the EU on chemical safety to protect public health.
  15. Make sure the UK’s national standards body (BSI) keeps its place in the European system for setting standards.
  16. Agree a deal with the EU to link our emissions trading systems, helping drive down costs.
  17. Secure mutual exemptions from respective Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) schemes, reducing costs and red tape for UK and EU businesses. 
  18. Set up clear reporting for the UK CBAM and regularly update it to stay in line with the EU system.
  19. Work together with the EU on future carbon tax decision making process’.
  20. Continue the ban on market manipulation and insider trading in the UK and EU energy markets, keeping prices lower and fairer.
  21. Work alongside the EU to develop greater energy security and to tackle climate change.
  22. Develop new renewable energy sources in the North Sea.
  23. Collaborate with the EU on net zero targets and the research and investment needed to achieve them.
  24. Share ideas and best practices for tackling climate change with the EU.
  25. Match the EU’s health and safety protections and environmental standards.
  26. Rejoin the Horizon research programme.
  27. Work towards rejoining the Erasmus+ programme, allowing UK students and academics to work, train and study in the EU and vice versa.
  28. Maintain high data protection standards so that data flows between the UK and EU can continue.
  29. Recognise each other’s professional qualifications, making it easier for British professionals to work in the EU and vice versa.
  30. Work with regulatory bodies to make sure the UK and EU can easily recognise each other’s professional qualifications.
  31. Create a visa scheme so young Brits can live, work and study more easily in the EU, and young Europeans can do the same in the UK. 
  32. Agree to regularly review the number of young people involved in the Youth Experience Scheme.
  33. Agree to regularly review the fiscal requirements for the Youth Experience Scheme.
  34. Work together with the EU to support the travel of artists across Europe.
  35. Work together with the EU to make it easier for workers travelling on business to stay where they are required for a short period of time.
  36. Work together with the EU to make it easier for workers to be involved in longer-term projects in each others’ countries.
  37. Begin conversations with the EU to make it easier for short-term and freelance workers to get visas for each others’ countries. 
  38. Set out a roadmap for the future of the UK-EU relationship and agree to meet regularly.
  39. Explore how the UK and EU can work together across different policy areas and agencies, such as cross-border crime and terrorism.
  40. Extend the EU’s rule of origin grace period for electric cars, cutting costs and cutting red tape.
  41. Reduce non-tariff barriers for fishers, making it easier for them to sell their produce into the EU.
  42. Deepen existing trading relationships with key partners and strike new ones to boost the economy.
  43. Give MPs the opportunity to vote on the UK-EU deal in Parliament.
  44. Develop a UK trade strategy which recognises the importance of negotiation and trade-offs in reaching agreements.
  45. Carry out regional level breakdowns of the impact of the new UK-EU deal across the UK.
  46. Deliver stable funding schemes for small UK businesses so that they can improve their trade with the EU and drive economic growth.
  47. Help smaller UK companies overcome trading barriers with the EU, particularly those who lack the resources to deal with extra red tape.