This time, the government are really going to do it. There is no going back. They are going to push the button on a new type of trade border coming into Britain from the continent.
In industry, it’s being called Brexit 2.0. At least, that is the more polite version of the name for the imposition of a series of new post-Brexit requirements in Britain for food importers.
It is the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle of the changes necessary after the UK’s exit from the EU’s customs union and single market.
The most high-profile changes for food and plant product imports from the European Union start to be phased in on Wednesday, after a series of delays.
This will mean significantly extra red tape. In particular, an expensive veterinary certificate will be legally required with consignments of fresh food and plant imports from the EU. These are a requirement from 00:01 GMT on Wednesday, but will not be subject to actual checks at the border for another three months.
The government acknowledges that the extra red tape and checks will increase food prices, pushing up the overall level of prices by 0.2 percentage points over three years.
That means a notable impact on food inflation, but not a new food price shock of the kind seen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That increase was, nonetheless, sufficient for the cabinet to further delay the imposition of the checks last year, at a time when food inflation was rising at double-digit rates.
As Tom Southall, a director of the Cold Chain Federation, puts it: “There’s never been a good time to do it, which is why it’s been delayed five times.”
The delays have led to two issues. There has been a lack of reciprocity. UK food and farm exports to the EU have required extra red tape, checks and delays for three years, but their competitors on the continent have enjoyed unfettered access to the UK. The farming industry has expressed concern for UK biosecurity, i.e. defending against the spread of plant and animal diseases, that could prove very costly.
But on Wednesday, four years on from Brexit day, the changes will start.
If things go according to the government’s plan, the smooth and phased introduction of these new checks will protect UK biosecurity, have minimal impact on food availability and cost, and even provide an incentive for both the UK and EU to work together to lower these barriers.
Quote: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68135059