UK government publishes plans for post-Brexit border checks
The UK government on Wednesday set out proposals to introduce full customs checks on goods entering Britain from the EU by the end of October 2024, more than three-and-a-half years after originally planned.
While the new rules are required by Britain’s post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU, their introduction has been repeatedly delayed since the UK officially withdrew from the bloc on January 31, 2020, with ministers fearing they could create unacceptable delays at Channel ports and other entry points.
The proposals announced on Wednesday were designed to address these concerns, with stripped back plans that included carrying out checks away from ports to avoid causing disruption, and the launch of a pilot trusted trader scheme to simplify processes and allow regular importers to avoid full customs inspections.
They also propose that goods are ranked according to their level of risk to human, animal or plant health.
The Cabinet Office insisted it was its “firm intention” to press ahead with the first phase of controls in October this year.
Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, the minister in charge of the process, insisted the plans struck the correct balance between guaranteeing the security of goods entering the UK and ensuring that trade flowed freely.
“Our proposals strike a balance between giving consumers and businesses confidence while reducing the costs and friction for businesses,” she said.
Lord Benyon, biosecurity minister, said it was “vital” the UK had strong borders in place. “Invasive diseases could cost our farms and businesses billions of pounds, threaten our food safety and break confidence in UK exports around the world,” he said.
The National Farmers Union welcomed the proposals. “For the past three years, our farmers have faced the full gamut of EU controls on our exports while the EU has enjoyed continued easy access to the UK marketplace,” said the NFU’s president Minette Batters.
“As we mark ten years on from the horsemeat scandal, and with food fraud stories so recently making the headlines, it is critical that a robust system of import checks is put in place as quickly as possible and there are no further delays.”
However, Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, representing refrigerated food traders, pointed out that when similar customs checks were brought in on goods flowing from the UK to the EU, the increased bureaucracy forced many smaller UK businesses to stop exporting.
“There’s nothing in what is proposed in this model that suggests we won’t have exactly the same experience coming the other way,” Brennan said.
Andrew Opie, director of food and security for the British Retail Consortium, the retail trade body, said it was “imperative” the government stepped up its engagement with retailers and their European suppliers to avoid disruption.
“Ports and farmers will . . . need to be ready for physical checks from January, when the UK is particularly reliant on imported produce,” Opie pointed out.
The plans will be subject to a six-week consultation period before being finalised.
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