LONDON (Reuters) -Britain is suspending the previously planned introduction of extra border checks on live animal imports from the European Union to ease trade ahead of the implementation of a deal
Britain cancels extra border checks for animals ahead of UK-EU deal
Impact of Border Check Suspension
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain is suspending the previously planned introduction of extra border checks on live animal imports from the European Union to ease trade ahead of the implementation of a deal agreed in May to reduce friction, the UK government said on Monday.
Details of the SPS Deal
Extra border checks on some animal and plant goods imported from Ireland will also be suspended.
Current Compliance Requirements
May's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, part of a wider reset in UK-EU relations, will reduce paperwork and remove routine border checks on plant and animal products moving between the UK and EU, while maintaining high food standards.
Background on Post-Brexit Arrangements
However, the deal is yet to be implemented as details are still being negotiated.
In the meantime, British traders must continue to comply with the terms of the UK’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) that protect the country's biosecurity, including existing checks.
The suspension of the introduction of additional border checks follows the announcement in June that checks on EU fruit and vegetable imports had been scrapped.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could not give a timeline for implementation of the SPS deal.
When Britain left the EU's single market in 2021, the EU immediately enforced its rules, leading to port delays and prompting some British exporters to stop selling to the bloc.
Britain was much slower implementing its post-Brexit border arrangements, and after repeated delays and confusion it started to set new rules in phases from January last year.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
