Brexit - How this will impact on UK Procurement Law

• United Kingdom

• Brexit
• Competition, EU and Trade - Brexit
• Public procurement

24-06-2016

In the wake of Brexit, the extent to which existing UK procurement legislation, which implements EU procurement directives, might need to be amended post-Brexit would depend primarily on the type of relationship the UK negotiates with the EU and the extent to which the UK would continue to have access to the “Single Market” (that is, the EU’s internal market). We would expect that full access to the Single Market would entail continued application of EU procurement legislation.

If the UK were to forgo access to the Single Market, additional policy choices are likely to become relevant, such as whether the UK should remain a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement ("GPA"), a World Trade Organisation “plurilateral” agreement. It would seem likely that the UK would choose to do so as the GPA would give UK businesses access to the procurement markets of the EU and a number of other major trade partners. The GPA entails compliance with rules and obligations that are, in most key respects, substantively the same as the rules and obligations that apply under the current EU procurement directives. Under this scenario too, post-Brexit procurement legislation should remain in most key respects substantially the same.

For further information please read our Brexit resource on procurement 

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