European Union Committee
The future UK-EU relationship on professional and business services

13th Report of Session 2019-21 - published 13 October 2020 - HL Paper 143

Contents

Summary

Chapter 1: Introduction: professional and business services in the UK

The UK’s professional and business services sectors

Trade in professional and business services

Figure 1: UK top five goods and services exports (£billions)

Table 1: PBS International Trade

Table 2: UK-EU Trade in PBS

The future relationship negotiations

Chapter 2: Frameworks for trade in professional and business services

The EU’s Single Market for services

World Trade Organization (WTO) framework

Box 1: WTO GATS Modes of Supply

Free trade agreements (FTAs)

Most favoured nation clauses

Status of professional and business services in the negotiations

Business preparedness

Consequences of ‘no deal’

Chapter 3: Providing services on a cross-border basis

Potential barriers

Local presence requirements

Economic needs tests

Public procurement

UK and EU negotiating positions

Chapter 4: Rights of establishment

The importance of rights of establishment

Legal sector

Audit sector

UK and EU negotiating positions

Chapter 5: Business mobility

The importance of business mobility

Business mobility under a UK-EU agreement

Categories of professionals

Permitted activities

Visa and administrative requirements

Maximum lengths of stay

Intra-corporate transferees

Contractual service suppliers

Access to talent

Chapter 6: Recognition of professional qualifications

Introduction

Why is recognition of qualifications important?

The industry’s requirements

Legal sector

Lugano convention

UK and EU negotiating positions

Chapter 7: Intellectual Property

Introduction

Box 2: Trade marks, registered design rights and unregistered design rights in the EU

Registered design rights

UK and EU negotiating positions

Unregistered design rights

UK and EU negotiating positions

Chapter 8: Equivalence and regulatory cooperation

Equivalence and the audit sector

Divergence and withdrawal of equivalence

Structuring regulatory cooperation

UK and EU negotiating positions

Chapter 9: Digital trade and data flows

The need for data transfers

Data adequacy

The loss of adequacy

Data adequacy in UK law

The Government’s position

Data flows under a UK-EU agreement

Summary of conclusions and recommendations

Appendix 1: List of Members and declarations of interest

Appendix 2: List of witnesses

Appendix 3: Call for evidence

Evidence is published online at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/305/the-future-ukeu-relationship-on-professional-and-business-services// and available for inspection at the Parliamentary Archives (020 7219 3074).

Q in footnotes refers to a question in oral evidence.





© Parliamentary copyright 2020