UK and EU finalise deal to lift Brexit food and animal checks
Sanitary and phytosanitary deal removing Brexit checks on food and animal products is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2028, The Guardian reports.
The story in focus
The UK and EU have completed a sanitary and phytosanitary deal removing Brexit checks on imports and exports of food and animal products, The Guardian reported. Largely settled in May, it is now expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2028, later than previously planned.
- The Guardian said the SPS deal covers goods from sausages and cheese to leather goods and flowers.
- Implementation is expected in the first quarter of 2028, after an earlier planned start was missed.
- A draft joint statement is due at a UK-EU summit on 20 November.
- A separate draft links UK contributions to the EU budget with rejoining the single electricity market.
- The National Farmers' Union said British food exports to the EU had fallen by a third since Brexit.
What the deal covers
The Guardian reported that the UK and EU have completed a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement intended to remove Brexit checks on imports and exports of food and animal products, including sausages, cheese, leather goods and flowers. A 200-page text on post-Brexit food exports has been settled with no further negotiation, according to sources cited by the paper.
A draft joint statement for a UK-EU summit on 20 November says the deal would let most movements of animals, animal products, plants and plant products between Great Britain and the crown dependencies and the EU proceed without the certificates or controls currently required. UK goods would also be exempt from the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism, the draft states, because the two sides are already aligned on emissions.
Timing and political reaction
The deal was largely agreed in May, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs then expected implementation in May 2027. The Guardian reported that Defra has since told industry leaders it may not apply until 2028, with a further six-month transition for some products such as grains grown with fungicides not yet approved in the EU. The delay follows the change of UK prime minister, which pushed the summit back six months.
Unionist opinion in Northern Ireland is divided. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the deal does not go far enough, while Ulster Unionist Windsor framework spokesperson Steve Aiken said checks on most agricultural goods would be significantly, though not completely, reduced. EU ambassadors were due to discuss the draft statement in Brussels on Wednesday.
Related proposals
The draft joint statement also covers a UK contribution to the EU budget, tied to participation in parts of the EU internal market, and rejoining the single electricity market, which The Guardian said would help stabilise supplies and let UK energy companies sell into continental grids again. Chapters on a youth experience scheme and UK proposals on tuition fees for young Europeans remain under negotiation.
When is the UK-EU food and animal checks deal expected to take effect?
The Guardian reports implementation is expected in the first quarter of 2028, later than the May 2027 date Defra gave when the deal was published, with a further six-month transition for some products.
Sources & further reading
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