UK and EU Strike Draft Deal to Scrap Brexit Red Tape on Food Exports
Britain and the European Union have agreed a draft deal to remove most of the border checks imposed on food and farm exports since Brexit, in what is being presented as the centrepiece of the wider reset in relations between London and Brussels.
The BBC understands that the roughly 200-page draft text for the so-called SPS agreement — covering sanitary and phytosanitary rules, the health and safety standards that govern trade in animals, plants and food products — has been circulated to EU member states for consideration at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday, known as Coreper.
The food deal is the most significant part of the so-called Brexit reset agreed so far, removing checks and red tape that have weighed on exporters ever since the UK left the EU’s single market. The draft runs alongside separate texts on linking emissions trading systems and a youth travel and work scheme, plus a 15-page draft joint statement for UK and EU leaders ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month.
What the deal covers
Under the draft agreement, UK exporters would no longer need the £200 Export Health Certificates, £25 phytosanitary certificates, inspector fees, organic certificates, some port fees and sampling fees that were introduced after Brexit. Physical checks on many farm produce shipments would also be lifted.
The agreement would allow UK exports to the EU of fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters and seed potatoes to resume after years of restrictions. UK pets would be able to enter the EU with passports once more. In return, the UK will commit to observing and adapting to existing EU regulations on plant, animal and food trade standards.
The government has also published guidance to help producers prepare for the changes, covering food additives, animal breeding certificates, pesticides, vaccination residues, organic products and farm feeds, and says it is working toward a mid-2027 start date for the new arrangements. It expects the deal to support British jobs and to cut the bureaucracy that has driven up costs for farmers and producers.
A £5.1bn boost for the economy
The government claims the UK economy will eventually see £5.1bn worth of annual benefits from the deal. “A food and drink deal could deliver up to £5.1billion a year for the UK economy, slashing the costly red tape,” a government spokeswoman said in a statement.
The deal was described as great news for British food and drink businesses of all sizes, including the estimated 16,000 companies that stopped exporting to the EU after Brexit because of excessive bureaucracy. Industry groups have long complained that border friction has eaten into margins and pushed smaller firms out of European markets altogether.
Related reporting on the UK’s economy: UK Shop Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in Two-and-a-Half Years as Retailers Warn ‘Dam Is Starting to Break’.
What happens next
EU ambassadors will discuss the draft agreements at Wednesday’s Coreper meeting, while key details on the planned numbers in a Youth Experience Scheme are to be finalised at a political level in the coming days.
The prime minister is due to meet top EU officials at the summit later this month. He has said he wants to use it to open a longer-term conversation about the UK’s future relationship with the bloc, including the possibility of going all the way and rejoining — a prospect that would mark a decisive break with the settlement reached after the referendum. More on the prime minister’s EU approach: Burnham Opens Door to EU Free Movement Talks in Call for ‘Honest Discussion’.
