Brexit border checks to ‘add billions’ to consumer bills
Border checks on food and plant imports will add billions of pounds to the cost of doing business with the European Union, industry figures have warned.
From today European imports considered a “medium risk” to UK biosecurity will face physical inspection as part of a new border regime introduced almost eight years after the Brexit vote, and delayed five times in two years.
Plant and animal inspectors will examine a proportion of imported goods including fresh meat, fish, and dairy produce, a process that importers fear will disrupt supply chains, particularly for time-critical fresh goods.
The physical checks come three months after the introduction of new documentation for imports, including health certificates that require vets and plant inspectors to sign off consignments.
With importers also facing a charge for each consignment that comes into the UK irrespective of whether it is stopped for inspection, the government admits it will add more than £330m to annual business costs, and add 0.2% to food inflation over three years.
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The Cold Chain Federation, which represents cold and frozen goods importers, believes government estimates are low, and puts the cost in billions.
“We think there’s going to be a billion pound’s worth of extra cost put onto food coming through Dover port alone, if you expand that to the rest of the country you’re looking at all sorts of money, so it won’t be 0.2%, it will be substantially more than that and the consumer will see that increase,” chief executive Phil Pluck told Sky News.
“Restaurants, delicatessens, fish and chip shops could well be affected by what’s currently happening today and the consumer, in the very near future will start to see some of those food products going up in price.”
The government insists the checks are necessary to keep food and plant-borne diseases including African swine fever out of the UK, and the cost of introducing the checks is “negligible” compared to the impact of a major disease outbreak.
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Christine Middlemiss, the UK chief veterinary officer, said: “Now that we’re out of the EU and we can have our own biosecurity regime, we treat independently with other countries around the world so it’s important we’re managing our own biosecurity risks at the moment we’re at medium risk of incursion of a disease called African swine fever which is present in Germany and Italy and a number of countries in Europe.”
Smaller independent food importers fear they will be disproportionately affected by the new border regime as they lack the scale to mitigate costs or set up European subsidiaries to handle the process.
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Stefano Vallebona came to the UK 40 years ago from Sardinia and began providing London’s top restaurateurs with high-quality European produce. He says the new red tape will discourage small suppliers from doing business with the UK and ultimately reduce choice.
“All the pasteurised cheese, they already have extra European certificates, and when you talk to suppliers they’re not so keen, probably because they’re too small, because it’s new and it’s time consuming, so we’re going to have less speciality products.
“We will have less interesting cheeses, less interesting meats, and probably more power to the supermarkets and less to independents because it’s going to be harder.”
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European importers say the health checks are of limited value as they replicate the EU processes that the UK helped create for four decades, and have lived with for the last eight years without any additional processes.
Piotr Liczycki, managing director of Polish haulage firm Eljot International Transport, which specialises in meat imports, estimates his customers will pay around £1m in fees to the UK government this year.
“Nobody can explain what’s the difference between midnight and when the Brexit rules start up. It’s completely the same stuff, from the same factory, with the same quality, nothing has changed,” he told Sky News.
“Polish groups and poultry plants are wondering why the UK government didn’t enforce a solution like we have with Japan, or South Korea. You send us a couple of officials from Defra, they check the plant, do inspection, and say this plant is compliant with all our regulations so we give you permission to send goods for six months or a year.”
Cabinet Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe said: “It is essential that we introduce these global, risk-based checks to improve the UK’s biosecurity. We cannot continue with temporary measures which leave the UK open to threats from diseases and could do considerable damage to our livelihoods, our economy and our farming industry.”
Energy bills are set to fall from this July and will continue to drop in the autumn and winter, a forecaster has said.
Households will be charged £129 less for a typical annual bill from July as the energy price cap is due to fall, according to energy consultants Cornwall Insight.
From July, an average dual fuel bill will be £1,720 a year, 7% below the current price cap of £1,849 a year.
The price cap limits the cost per unit of energy and is revised every three months by the energy regulator Ofgem.
The official announcement from Ofgem will be made on Friday.
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Bills had already been made more expensive for three three-month periods, or quarters, in a row, in October, January, and April, as wholesale gas prices rose and European stores of the fossil fuel were depleted due to cold weather.
Electricity prices are tied to gas prices.
The UK is also heavily reliant on gas for home heating and uses a significant amount for electricity generation.
Drops when the cap is next changed in October and January will be “modest”, Cornwall Insight said.
Price falls are not a certainty, however, as weather patterns, gas storage rules, the war in Ukraine, and tariffs could all change pricing.
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Energy costs have remained elevated following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and bills are still “well above” the levels seen at the start of the decade, said Cornwall Insight’s principal consultant, Dr Craig Lowrey.
“Prices are falling, but not by enough for the numerous households struggling under the weight of a cost-of-living crisis.
“As such, there remains a risk that energy will remain unaffordable for many,” he said.
“If prices can go down, they can bounce back up, especially with the unsettled global economic and political landscape we are experiencing. This is not the moment for complacency.”
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The government was called on by Mr Lowrey to explore options such as social tariffs, where vulnerable customers could pay less.
Proposals, including zonal pricing, which would see different regions of the country pay different rates, based on local supply and demand levels, are important but must be balanced with the urgent affordability crisis people are facing now, he said.
The continued growth of domestically produced renewable energy is “a positive step forward” and a cause for optimism as it helps protect against global energy price shocks and improves energy security, Mr Lowrey added.
“That progress needs to continue at pace, not just for the net zero transition, but to help build a more stable and secure energy future for all.”
The UK and the EU have agreed a new trade deal – five years after Brexit kicked in.
Following six months of talks after Sir Keir Starmer promised a fresh deal when he became prime minister last July, the two sides have come to an agreement.
Here are the details:
eGates
British passport holders will be able to use more eGates in Europe to avoid the long border control queues that have become the norm since Brexit in many EU countries.
Pet travel
Pet passports will be brought back so cats and dogs coming from the UK will no longer need pricey animal health certificates for every trip. After Brexit, pet owners had to get a certificate from a vet in the UK then a vet in the EU before returning.
Pets will now be allowed to travel on a pet passport instead of having to have a health certificate every time they travel. Pic: iStock
Red tape on food and drink sales
A new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal has been agreed to reduce red tape currently needed to import and export food and drink between the UK and the EU.
There is no time limit to this part of the deal, which the government says will reduce the burden on businesses and reduce lorry queues at the border.
The “vast majority” of routine checks and certificates for animal and plant products will be removed completely, including between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The government says this could lower food prices and increase choice on supermarket shelves.
Some British foods that have been prevented from being sold in the EU since Brexit will be allowed back in again, including burgers and sausages.
Fishing rights
The current fishing deal agreed in 2020 will continue for 12 years.
There will be no increase in fish quotas.
British fishing rights will continue for 12 years. Pic: PA
EU fishing vessels can fish in UK waters, but they require a valid licence, and there are annual negotiations on access and share of stock.
The UK government has announced a £360m investment into the fishing industry to go towards new technology and equipment to modernise the fleet, train the workforce, help revitalise coastal communities, support tourism and boost seafood exports.
Defence
A new security and defence partnership has been agreed so the UK defence industry can participate in the EU’s plan for a £150bn defence fund called Security Action for Europe (SAFE). This will support thousands of British jobs.
The UK and EU will also enhance cooperation over maritime security and accident reporting.
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Carbon tax
The deal will see closer co-operation on emissions by the UK and the EU, linking their own emissions trading systems.
The UK’s scheme sets a cap on the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions allowed from the power generation sector, energy-intensive industries and aviation, with companies issued allowances that they can trade with each other.
Under the deal, UK businesses will avoid being hit by the EU’s carbon tax, due to come in next year, which would have handed £800m to the EU.
Steel
British steel exports will be protected from new EU rules and tariffs to save UK steel £25m a year.
Further talks:
Youth mobility scheme
The UK and the EU have agreed to more negotiations on a youth mobility scheme to allow people aged 18-30 in the UK and the EU to move freely between countries for a limited period.
The scheme would include visas for young people working, studying, volunteering, travelling and working as au pairs.
Erasmus
The EU and the UK have agreed they should work towards an Erasmus programme, the student exchange programme which was scrapped when Brexit took place.
Catching criminals
The two sides have agreed to enter talks about the UK having access to EU facial images data to help catch dangerous criminals.
Migration
The two sides have agreed to further work on finding solutions to tackle illegal migration, including on returns and a joint commitment to tackle Channel crossings.
Electricity
The UK and the EU said they should explore the UK’s participation in the EU’s internal electricity market, including in its trading platforms.
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