New post-Brexit customs rules for goods arriving from the EU to the UK took effect yesterday, and a leading food industry body has warned that the new border controls could lead to food shortages.
Beginning yesterday, importers must make a full customs declaration on goods entering the UK from the EU or other countries. Businesses are no longer allowed to delay completing full import customs declarations for up to 175 days — a measure that was introduced to cope with the disruption of Brexit.
The British Frozen Food Federation this week said that the new restrictions on animal and plant products from the EU could result in major delays at ports in the new year, because some in the supply chain — especially logistics companies on the EU side — might not be prepared for the changes.
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“We are concerned that not enough planning has been done to ensure the new requirements are understood by everyone in the food supply chain,” federation chief executive Richard Harrow said.
“With only days to go before the new rules, we remain concerned that January could be a fraught month for our members,” he said.
The new measures require businesses to complete the correct paperwork at least four hours before goods can arrive at UK borders, or they risk being turned back at the border. Animal and plant-based products must also have statement of origin certificates.
While drivers must declare their goods and origin certificates, checks are expected to be minimal until the rules ramp up in July, when much stricter checks are expected to come into force.
The UK imports five times the amount of food it exports to the EU.
The Cold Chain Federation (CCF) said specialty food imports could face the same 70 percent decline that affected exports of food by small businesses last year, after Britain quit the EU single market and customs union.
“The big casualty of these trade barriers is the business that needs to import small and frequent quantities across borders — a palette load of specialty cheeses or boxes of onion powder. This is the sort of trade that is going to suffer,” CCF chief executive Shane Brennan said.
Business groups have called on the British government to soften its stance in negotiations with the EU to prevent a collapse in trade with the 27-member bloc.
However, while ministers have agreed to extend the deadline for veterinary checks on food crossing the border, there has been little progress on cutting red tape.
Mike Cherry, the chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, said a survey in the autumn showed only one-quarter of firms were prepared for the introduction of full import checks.
“We don’t have any indication that the level of preparedness has improved, especially as the festive trading season has been so disrupted yet again,” he said, adding that one in five small firms that do business internationally had given up selling to clients in the EU since the transition period on exports ended.
The new rules took effect six months after they were originally scheduled because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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