Author Archives: HM Government

A new paper setting out proposals for a future customs relationship with the EU has been unveiled today by the Government in the first of a series of papers on the UK’s future partnership with the EU.

The document highlights the UK’s strong starting position and how we can build on the strong foundation through two broad approaches:

• A highly streamlined customs arrangement between the UK and the EU, with customs requirements that are as frictionless as possible. This would aim to continue some existing arrangements we have with the EU, reduce or remove barriers to trade through new arrangements, and adopt technology-based solutions to make it easier for businesses to comply with customs procedures.

• A new customs partnership with the EU by aligning our approach to the customs border in a way that removes the need for a UK-EU customs border. One potential approach would involve the UK mirroring the EU’s requirements for imports from the rest of the world where the final destination is the EU.

The paper also sets out new details on an interim period with the EU. The proposed model, which would mean close association with the EU Customs union for a time-limited period, would ensure that UK businesses only have to adjust once to a new customs relationship. This would minimise disruption and offering business a smooth and orderly transition.

Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis said:

The approaches we are setting out today will benefit both the EU and UK and avoid a cliff-edge for businesses and individuals on both sides.

The way we approach the movement of goods across our border will be a critical building block for our independent trade policy. An interim period would mean businesses only need to adjust once to the new regime and would allow for a smooth and orderly transition.

The UK is the EU’s biggest trading partner so it is in the interest of both sides that we reach an agreement on our future relationship. The UK starts from a strong position and we are confident we can deliver a result that is good for business here in the UK and across the EU.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond said:

Our proposals are ambitious, and rightly so. They set out arrangements that would allow UK businesses to continue to trade with their European partners in the future, while expanding their markets beyond the EU.

And in the near term they will reassure people and companies that, the day after we leave the EU, they will still be able to go about their business without disruption as we make a smooth transition to our bright future outside the EU and deliver a Brexit that works for Britain.

The leading document crucially sets out that the UK will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK, and by three key objectives: to ensure trade with the EU is frictionless as possible, to avoid any form of hard-border between Ireland and Northern Ireland and to establish an independent international trade policy.

International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:

Leaving the Customs Union will allow us to operate a fully independent trade policy in Britain’s national interest which will benefit UK businesses and consumers.

We will seek a new customs arrangement that ensures that trade between the UK and the EU remains as frictionless as possible and allows us to forge new trade relationships with our partners in Europe and around the world.

As we leave the EU and establish an independent trade policy, the Government will prioritise ensuring that the UK and EU businesses and consumers can continue to trade freely with one another as part of a new free trade agreement. In 2016, UK imports and exports from the EU totalled £553 billion alone.

The paper can be found here.

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The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, confirms that these plant-made particles are structurally similar to poliovirus and can protect mice from infection as effectively as existing vaccines.

As large amounts of live poliovirus are needed to make current vaccines, VLP-based vaccines could provide a safer alternative for vaccine production after polio eradication.

What are VLPs?

VLPs are empty protein shells that ‘mimic’ the virus but lack the genetic material needed for replication. Scientists have suggested poliovirus VLPs as potential vaccine candidates because they can provoke an immune response but aren’t infectious. However, their instability has long been a barrier for their use as vaccines.

In January, NIBSC researchers published a new genetic approach to make stable poliovirus VLPs, which forms the basis of this new study.

Using plants to make medicines

Over the last 20 years, plants have begun to compete with bacteria, yeast, insect and mammalian cells as producers of medicines and they’ve recently been used to make candidate VLP-based vaccines against infectious diseases such as influenza.

For this study, researchers expressed stabilised poliovirus VLPs in plants and compared them to normal, or ‘wild-type’, poliovirus.

They found that plant-produced stabilised VLPs had a similar structure to wild-type poliovirus and could promote similar levels of protective proteins, known as antibodies, as an existing vaccine.

This paper suggests plants could be used to make large quantities of stable and effective poliovirus VLPs for new vaccines.

The research is a collaboration between scientists at the John Innes Centre, NIBSC, University of Oxford, Diamond Light Source and University of Leeds and funded by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

NIBSC researcher, and study author, Dr Andrew Macadam said:

Current vaccines for polio are produced from large amounts of live virus which carries a threat of accidental escape and re-introduction. As VLPs aren’t infectious, making vaccines using these particles is safer and could be particularly important post-eradication.

This research shows that plants can be used to successfully make stable VLPs for vaccines. It takes us a step closer to replacing current polio vaccines, providing us with a cheap and viable option for making VLP-based vaccines.

But the possibilities of this approach could extend further than polio and we’re also looking at applying these methods to develop stable VLPs for new vaccines against other viruses.

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The UK follows the country-by-country reporting requirements of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). More details can be found in this tax information and impact note. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that the… read more