Will The Brexit Vote Affect US ATA Carnet Users?

UPDATE: This was originally written on July 27^th of 2017. A current review indicates that, while there has been a debate in Parliament regarding whether the U.K. will or will not withdraw from the E.U. Customs Union, to date the U.K. is still planning to withdraw.

Short term answer: No.
Long term answer: Yes, minimally.

According to the latest statement from USCIB (United States Council for International Business), the Brexit vote for U.K. to leave the European Union has no affect on the use of ATA Carnets in the U.K., or in the E.U. at the moment because the process for parting has not yet begun. The United States Council for International Business is the national guaranteeing association for ATA Carnets in the United States.

The Deputy chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Mr. Peter Bishop also said: "In the meantime members of the chain can continue to issue ATA Carnets for the U.K. as part of the E.U. in exactly the same way as they do now.  The U.K. will continue issuing exactly as present as well." The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the national guaranteeing association for ATA Carnets in the United Kingdom.

In the long run, assuming the U.K. completes its leave from the E.U. (most likely around the latter part of 2018), U.S. carnet users will treat the U.K. as they do Switzerland and Norway for example. The carnet is required to be stamped in and out of all European non-E.U. members but only has to be stamped in and out of the E.U. once: upon import into and re-export from the E.U. So while Brexit, once implemented may require a carnet user to get additional certificates for a European trip, it should not impact the cost of an ATA Carnet much. Carnet Specialists will work with applicants at the appropriate time to estimate numbers of certificates and, in some cases, whether an additional carnet might be recommended.

As for now, USCIB is "monitoring the situation closely, working with ICC and affected parties including our ATA Carnet Service Providers."  We will keep you updated if anything changes. For timely updates exclusively about changes to the ATA Carnet system and ATA Carnet use, subscribe to our periodic newsletter, Exportise.

Sources: London Chamber of Commerce and Industry & United States Council for International Business