Following the release of new data showing that UK exports to the EU in January plummeted by 40.7%, while imports dropped by 28.8%, business associations have voiced concerns that Brexit could have a lasting impact on trade levels.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that from December 2020 to January 2021, UK goods exports and imports to the EU plunged by £5.6bn and £6.6bn respectively, marking the largest monthly fall since comparative records began.
The biggest drops in exports to the EU were seen in the chemicals – particularly medicinal and pharmaceutical products – sector, which decreased by £1.6bn, as well as the machinery and transport equipment sector, which fell by £1.2bn.
Berlin-headquartered fintech Modifi is seeking to expand its digital trade finance business into the US, following a fresh injection of funding from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
The company, whose platform enables access to finance for importers and exporters, is also expanding its presence in the Netherlands, where it says SMEs lag well behind the European average in terms of access to credit facilities.
The US expansion is backed by a new US$60mn debt facility from SVB’s German branch, bringing the company’s raised capital to US$111mn.
Nelson Holzner, Modifi’s chief executive and co-founder, tells
GTR that the company is building up its US-based team and has pilot customers in the country already.
The European Commission is “not naive” about the UK’s future ambitions in the data space and will be prepared to suspend transfers of personal data to the country should the UK in the future diverge from EU standards, Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has said.
In February, the Commission issued draft adequacy approval on transfers of personal data between the EU and the UK, following the latter’s decision to withdraw from the European Union.
The decision is being examined by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and will also need to be fully signed off by the 27 member states. In the meantime, a ‘bridging’ mechanism has been put in place, lasting up to six months, which allows for transfers to temporarily continue.
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Data related collective actions can generally be divided into two broad categories: (i) “unauthorized use of personal data” cases, where the firm controlling personal data allegedly uses it in an unauthorized manner; and (ii) “unauthorized access to personal data” cases where a third party (e.g. hackers) improperly accesses private data for malicious reasons.
This article discusses some of the key legal and economic issues that arise in matters involving the unauthorized use of, or unauthorised access to, personal data in the UK.
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Data Protection Laws in the UK
“Personal data” can refer to diverse information types. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which was implemented in the UK and supplemented by the UK Data Protection Act of 2018 (DPA 2018),