Brexit and France
France is a vital trading and investment partner of the UK, and in an increasingly uncertain world this is a relationship that really matters. There is also the proposed Brexit “reset” which may bring the UK and France even closer together as trade and investment partners, not to mention their very important security and political ties.
It would be interesting , therefore, to look at recent trade and investment figures between the two countries.
On 26th March 2026, the UK government’s Department for Business and Trade (“DBT”) published its latest factsheet on UK- France trade and investment. This factsheet showed that total trade in goods and services ( exports plus imports) between the UK and France was £104.6 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 ( Quarter 3) 2025, a decrease of 0.1% or £90 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024. Of this £104.6 billion:
- Total UK exports in France amounted to £48.6 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2025 ( an increase of 3.2% or £1.5 billion in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024); and
- Total UK imports from France amounted to £56.0 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2025 ( a decrease of 2.7% or £1.6 billion in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2024).
According to the factsheet, France was the UK’s 4th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2025, accounting for 5.5% of total UK trade.
The DBT factsheet also showed that, at the end of 2024, the stock of Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) from the UK in France was £99.9 billion, 0.5% or £473 million higher than at the end of 2023, and that, at the end of 2024, France accounted for 5.4% of the total UK outward FDI stock.
In addition, the factsheet revealed that, at the end of 2024, the stock of FDI from France in the UK was £110.5 billion , 0.2% or £259 million lower than at the end of 2023, and that, st the end of 2024, France accounted for 5.2% of the total UK inward FDI stock.
These are important statistics which show strength in the trade and investment relationship between the UK and France but also room for expansion.
Brexit and the Future of Agentic AI ( Artificial Intelligence)
Reportedly, on 31st March 2026, the UK’s Digital Regulation Co-operation Forum (DRCF) published a paper exploring agentic AI in the context of existing law and regulatory frameworks. It is understood that the paper considered the possible implications of agentic AI across four categories: governance, data protection and cybersecurity, consumer rights and interests and market dynamics and competition.
DRCF is composed of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO), and Ofcom and reportedly aims to support organisations with regulatory obligations straddling more than one of these regulators.
Agentic AI systems are said to operate autonomously to execute an overall goal by using multiple AI agents to perform a sequence of incremental tasks. The paper considered the potential pitfalls from this autonomous operation. There is, for instance, the possibility of a lack of transparency which might hinder a user from contesting an agent’s decision.
The paper reportedly said that:-
- All four regulators agreed that AI agents fell within existing UK legal regimes; and
- Obligations of transparency, fairness, safety, consumer protection and competition continued to apply as agentic AI developed.
In its paper, DRCF said that member regulators would work collaboratively to address emerging risks and to support a coherent approach to agentic AI regulation.
Interesting times!
Brexit and Tracey Emin – an Exhibition of her Works at the Tate Modern
In the Spring and Summer of 2026, The Tate Modern Gallery in London was staging a remarkable exhibition of the highly innovative and contemporary painter Tracey Emin’s works, until the end of August 2026.
The title of the exhibition is “Tracey Emin – A Second Life” and exhibits works from all parts of her 40 year career as one of the UK’s most original and emotive artists.
Tracey Emin pulls no punches in her art and seeks to infuse it with many of her difficult life experiences, including her more recent cancer episode from which she appears to have emerged with a whole new Second Life of extraordinary art.
Dame Tracey Emin is of Turkish – Cypriot heritage and one does have the impression that the uncertainties of life to which immigrant communities often feel subject have deeply informed the distinctive edginess of her artistic style. One of the other great influences in her life was, of course, the English seaside town of Margate, where she grew up, and by her work she has elevated Margate to the status of something of a national treasure!
This remarkable artist demonstrates in her compositions the wide range of her appeal as well as the intermingling of specific personal influences and by staging the exhibition in London , Tracey Emin and the Tate Modern Gallery have emphasised London’s role as a centre of world culture, second to none and regardless of Brexit.
Brexit and Corporate Re-Domiciliation
On 25th March 2026, the UK Government issued a press release and launched a Consultation with a view to introducing a UK corporate re-domiciliation regime, “making it simpler and cheaper for overseas companies to move their place of incorporation to the United Kingdom”. The Consultation was open to responses for 12 weeks, from 25th March 2026 until 19th June 2026.
The proposed regime was said to be based on the framework set out in the Report of the Independent Expert Panel deriving from the initial Government consultation in 2021. In the new Consultation document, the Government said that it agreed the Independent Expert Panel’s approach for a UK corporate re-domiciliation regime as summarised below, namely, that:-
- re-domiciliation to the UK should be available to a body corporate which is solvent and intends to carry on business following its re-domiciliation;
- for a body corporate re-domiciling to the UK, the protection of the members, creditors and others is properly a matter for the law of that jurisdiction;
- if the applicant meets the requirements of the jurisdiction that it is leaving, and the relevant requirements of the UK regime, it should have flexibility as to whether it becomes a private or public UK company upon re-domiciliation;
- the regime is intended to ensure that its legal personality is preserved. This will require the registration of the company in the UK before it is de-registered in the departing jurisdiction and any unavoidable period where there is registration in two jurisdictions is kept as short as possible;
- the applicant should be primarily responsible for liaising with the relevant authorities ( for example Companies House and other regulators to make the necessary arrangements);and
- once a body corporate has re-domiciled to the UK, it should be treated in the same way as a company originally incorporated in the UK, except for the limited circumstances where its prior domiciliation should be accounted for.
The Government’s press release said that the UK’s reputation as a leading destination for international business would be strengthened by the introduction into the UK of a corporate re-domiciliation regime, aligning with regimes elsewhere including Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and several US states.
Changing times!
Brexit and PFAS ( Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances)
On 23rd April 2026, the House of Commons’ cross – party Environmental Audit Committee ( “EAC”) reportedly published its report following its inquiry into addressing the risks from PFAS.
According to the accompanying press release, PFAS are a family of more than 10,000 man-made substances, which are sometimes known as “forever chemicals”, and which ( owing to their highly resistant qualities) are often used by the military and emergency services, as well as in household products such as cosmetics and frying pans. The press release goes on to say, however, that those highly resistant qualities mean that PFAS can accumulate in the environment and in people’s bodies for decades, and that some research suggests that they could be linked to serious health issues such as decreased fertility, developmental delays and certain cancers.
The EAC recommended in its report that the UK Government should urgently restrict non-essential uses of PFAS…but what is “non-essential” in this context?
More specifically, the EAC’s recommendations were said to have included:-
- Introducing phased restrictions on non-essential PFAS uses from 2027 ( such as in food packaging, kitchen equipment and school uniforms) under the UK REACH chemicals regime and taking a precautionary approach to approving new PFAS. In this context, the UK REACH regime should seek to align with the EU REACH regime where possible;
- Applying a “polluter pays” approach to PFAS remediation and consulting by March 2027 on establishing a national fund for PFAS remediation;
- Setting limits on the levels and types of PFAS permitted in food, including establishing and monitoring limits on PFAS entering the food chain through agricultural processes; and
- Consulting on mandatory PFAS disclosures across supply chains within six months and, in the UK Government response, setting out a timeline for diverting PFAS waste to safer alternatives.
This may be an interesting example of when the pressures to improve economic growth may have to accommodate serious environmental and public health issues.
Let us see what happens!
Disclaimer: This article contains general commentary only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
