Brexit Clauses Template (A248)

Who can use these Brexit clauses?

Anyone whose business will be affected by Brexit – whether the business is based in the UK, the rest of Europe or elsewhere.

Agents & distributors, suppliers and manufacturers can all be affected.

What are these Brexit clauses for?

The UK’ departure from the EU on 31st January does not overcome  the uncertainty over the terms of Brexit, which still need to be negotiated over the remainder of this year, if not for a longer period.   So, if you do business in the EU and/or with  suppliers and/or customers in the EU, you will need a mechanism for handling the changes when they occur.  Our Brexit clauses offer this, plus some ideas for dealing with changes in laws and regulations that could affect you.  And in some cases, if the impact is really tough, you may want to be able to cancel a contract. We have wording to deal with this.

The situation in some ways is similar to force majeure – an unforeseen event that can cause disruption and damage.  But until the details of  the UK’s new relationship with Europe have been decided, you won’t know how well -or how badly – it will affect your business.

What are the main issues for a business when considering a contract clause to deal with Brexit?

Firstly, you need to consider the risks. While the Withdrawal Agreement has come into effect, there remains the risk of a hard Brexit if no agreement on future trading arrangements is reached by December 2020.  Until we know whether or not there will be agreement  and what it will cover, businesses remain at risk.

Second, if you have  – or you are planning – business with other parties in the EU (or you’re based in the EU, trading with the UK) what are the main risks for that business?  They could be practical – e.g. do you need to pre-purchase goods to avoid the risk of border delays after December 2020 – or they could affect pricing and profit– e.g. the risk of new tariffs.

Third, if you have not already done so, talk to your counterparties and see whether you can reach agreement on how those risks will be handled.

ContractStore’s Brexit clauses offer forms of wording that can be used and adapted to deal with some of these risks.  A Brexit clause doesn’t solve the problem but it does provide a mechanism/procedure for dealing with the risks and for helping to achieve an agreed outcome.

What detailed terms do these Brexit clauses cover?

The 12 sample clauses cover different scenarios:

• Material adverse impact of a general nature
• Import Duties and Tariffs
• Regulatory and Legal
• Restrictions on movement of people
• Territory

When I download the document, can I change it and/or use it more than once?

Certainly. Our document contains templates which you will need to adapt,both to meet your particular circumstances and for the wording to fit in with the rest of your contract terms.

ContractStore’s documents are in MS Word and easy to adapt and use as often as you require in your business.

Watch the webinar:

  Is your Business Ready for Brexit    Given by solicitor Giles Dixon, it has a lot of information on Brexit clauses including some samples.

Legal support

ContractStore is not a law firm but a publisher of legal templates. These are all written by experienced lawyers. So, we can arrange for our customers to obtain legal support if they need special terms or a bespoke template. . For more information see our Legal Services page.

And if you want to contact us see our Contacts page.