The United Kingdom Parliament voted on March 14 to seek a delay of the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union. The EU still has to approve the extension of Article 50, and the time frame of the departure is still to be determined, though it may be lengthy if the U.K. does not adopt the deal it negotiated with the EU, as appears likely after it failed twice in the U.K. Parliament in recent months.

The United Kingdom would temporarily set tariffs at zero for nearly 90 percent of imported goods should it leave the European Union with no transition deal in place, the U.K. Department for International Trade said in a March 13 press release announcing a draft tariff and customs scheme in the run-up to a vote in Parliament on whether to leave with no deal.

If the United Kingdom crashes out of the European Union in 17 days, it has a plan on what its tariff schedule will be, but John Dickerman, head of the Washington office of the Confederation of British Industries, said that there's no answer on who will be ready to take the manifest information from exporters the day after Brexit. "That's a huge challenge," he said.

The U.K. Parliament voted March 13 that the U.K. should not leave the European Union without a deal, paving the way for another vote that could seek to delay that departure beyond the March 29 deadline. Although the vote is not legally binding, it formally signaled Parliament’s opposition to a no-deal Brexit -- the possibility of the U.K. leaving the EU without an agreed framework for cross-border transactions. The measure passed 321-278. A March 14 vote on another amendment on whether to delay Brexit is expected, according to reports.

A transition deal on the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union failed for a second time in the U.K. Parliament on March 12, setting up a series of votes on whether to leave the EU with no deal and whether to delay Brexit, according to a statement following the vote from U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.

A State Department policy change that lifts statutory debarments on companies that have export privileges still banned is a practical step toward rewarding past violators who aren't yet ready for complete reinstatement, lawyers say. The policy change, announced in a March 4 notice, came as State lifted a debarment against Colorado-based Rocky Mountain Instrument Company (RMI) -- stemming from 2010 violations of the Arms Export Control Act -- without reinstating RMI’s export privileges.

Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with some of the top stories for March 5-8 in case they were missed.

CBP would like even more public feedback on how to modernize the agency's processes and regulations, CBP said in a notice. CBP said it is reopening the comment period until April 11 to allow for new input after it held a March 1 meeting to discuss a wide range of ideas for updates. The March 1 meeting included few mentions of exports, but the docket of the original request for comments includes multiple suggestions and criticisms on the export side.

Work continues at CBP on its electronic pre-departure export manifest system, which the agency sees as a necessary precondition before the post-departure Automated Export System filing program is brought back, said Jim Swanson, CBP director-cargo and conveyance security and controls, in an interview. CBP is working on operational benefits for carriers to ramp up participation in its pilots in the ocean, rail and air modes, and hopes to move forward with truck pre-departure manifest next year, Swanson said.

Importers into the United Kingdom will be able to pay VAT on periodic returns rather than at the time of entry if the U.K. leaves the European Union with no deal in place on March 29, HM Revenue and Customs said in a guidance document issued March 6. “This will apply to goods from both EU and non-EU countries and will help businesses currently moving goods into the UK from other EU member states to reduce any cash flow impacts after the UK leave the EU,” the guidance said.