UK IMPORT CONTROLS, THE NEVER-ENDING STORY

We had just written, last week, about a more diplomatic position taken by the EU towards Britain’s defaults and immediately the British government decided to extend once again the controls, so close to the heart of the EU Commission, on imported goods.

The obligation to pre-notify agri-food imports will be introduced on 1st January 2022 (the deadline of 1st October 2021 has been cancelled); the new requirements for export health certificates will be introduced on 1st July 2022 (the original deadline of 1st October 2021 has been cancelled); phytosanitary certificates and physical checks on SPS goods at border control posts will be introduced on 1st July 2022 (the original deadline of 1st January 2022 has been cancelled); the requirement for declarations of security on imports will be introduced from 1st July 2022 (the original deadline of 1st January 2022 has been cancelled). The pandemic impacts on businesses, more lasting than expected, both in the United Kingdom and in the European Union; The pressures on global supply chains, caused by a wide range of factors, including the increase in freight transport costs, to which the agri-food sector is particularly sensitive: these are the causes of the extension, decided by the government with a Statement of 14 September, once again unilaterally, which does not prejudge the commitment to respect the new deadlines, but risks definitively undermining the EU’s confidence in its British partner. We await the (eventual) countermeasures.