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Robert Tomanek, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Labour and Technology meets Greg Hands, UK Minister of State for Trade Policy to talk about cooperation with Poland after the transition period.

04.02.2021

At the initiative of the British side, a videoconference was held at the Ministry of Economic Development, Labour and Technology, attended by Minister of State for Trade Policy in the Department for International Trade of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Greg Hands and Robert Tomanek, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Labour and Technology. The debate focused on identifying potential issues, which may crop up immediately after the transition period and working together to expand bilateral trade and investment relations.

Robert Tomanek, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Labour and Technolog at the meeting

Given that the United Kingdom is one of key trading partners for Poland – as the third largest target market for our exports and eleventh largest importer of our goods, Poland hopes that even after Brexit is concluded, the United Kingdom will remain an important economic partner for Poland and the European Union under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). 


Deputy Minister Robert Tomanek raised the issue of increased fees for transit carriers – new fees, as well as deposits – for transporting goods through the territory of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland. The aim of the fees is to ensure the delivery of goods to the destination. He also raised the issue of insufficient number of customs agencies at the British borders, which makes exporting from the UK to EU countries more difficult, as well as the need to obtain information on the possibility of posting workers from the EU to the UK after the transition period, for example on a dedicated website. Prospects for cooperation between Poland and the United Kingdom in the field of green technologies and issues related to global trade were also brought up during the conference. Both sides agreed on the urgent need to reform and strengthen the World Trade Organization (WTO).


During the call, the parties also brought up the topic of joint projects carried out under the Action Plan adopted in June 2020 by the Prime Ministers of Poland and the United Kingdom, aimed at deepening bilateral economic relations, including the 3rd Polish-British Business Forum – Business, Trade and Investment, which is slated to take place online on 10 March. This year's forum will focus on e-services and health products.


The United Kingdom remains one of Poland’s key economic partners – third largest recipient of Polish exported goods, ranking 8th among the largest foreign investors in Poland. The latest data shows that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, Polish-British trade recorded a relatively small decline in 2020 (between January and November 2020, Polish exports to the UK decreased by 6% year-on-year, with imports trailing by 12%).

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