As the UK prepares to leave the European Union on the 31st of January, the EU refused to drop its £2.4 billion legal case against the British government.
Trade talks between the UK and the European Union will commence once the UK leave the EU on the 31st of January. MPs are expected to vote in favour of the Withdrawal Agreement bill next week.
It should be noted that the European Union is still in the process of attempting to sue to the British government for £2.4 billion. This has been ongoing since 2017.
The EU’s Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) determined that the UK had been undervaluing imports of textiles and shoes in its trade with China, resulting in VAT being collected.
The European Union claims that this happened between 2013-2016 and believes that this has resulted in losses to the EU’s budget.
Fake invoices were allegedly used for goods being imported from China. The European Commission is now demanding £2.4 billion from the British government in Customs Duties.
In a statement responding to the claims, HMRC said: “We do not recognise the European Commission’s estimate of alleged duty loss. We take customs fraud very seriously and we continue to evolve our response as new threats emerge.”
A formal letter was sent to Mrs May in early 2018 and a warning was sent to the British government in September 2018.
The European Commission has since escalated the situation to the European Court of Justice in March 2019, but since then the case has stalled and little progress has been made.
The case could be brought up in talks with the UK government as a trade deal is negotiated throughout 2020.
Mr Johnson is determined to strike an agreement with the European Union which is based on the Canada style trade deal and does not include alignment with rules or regulations.
Michael Gove said: “We will have concluded our conversations with the EU about the new framework of free trade and friendly cooperation by the end of next year.”
If a trade deal between the British government and the European Union is not agreed by the end of 2020, the two parties will revert to trading on WTO terms. This has been the Brexit Party’s prefered Brexit outcome and Jeremy Corbyn’s brother, Piers Morgan has backed this scenario.
