UK and EU reach draft SPS deal on food, animal and plant border checks
For hauliers moving agri-food goods between Great Britain and the EU, government guidance says the agreement is intended to remove export health certificates, phytosanitary certificates and routine border checks for most such goods from mid-2027. Customs declarations will remain, and details are still subject to negotiation.
The UK and EU reached a draft sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement on 3 November, according to trans.iNFO. The deal is expected to be formally confirmed at the UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November. trans.iNFO reports that Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa there. Logistics UK has also responded to reports of the draft deal.
Defra guidance for logistics businesses, published on 28 May before the draft was reached, sets out what the government expects the agreement to change. For trade between Great Britain and the EU, it says the requirements for export health certificates, phytosanitary certificates and routine border checks will be removed for most agri-food goods. The guidance also says that, as negotiations were ongoing, not all details were confirmed, including detailed requirements and the exact timing of changes. The government intends the agreement to take effect in mid-2027, subject to negotiations.
For hauliers, the guidance expects fewer or no physical inspections of animal, plant and food products, depending on whether goods are low-risk or high-risk. It says this should make consignments less likely to be held at border control posts. It also expects the new arrangements to make it easier to consolidate mixed loads containing both SPS and non-SPS goods.
The agreement is not a customs agreement, so customs controls will remain. Operators must still complete customs declarations, meet rules of origin requirements where applicable, and make sure all commercial documentation is accurate and complete.
The guidance also says Great Britain is expected to align with EU rules on imports from third countries. As a result, some goods imported into Great Britain from the rest of the world that are not currently routinely inspected will need inspection from mid-2027. The guidance gives products of animal origin and certain citrus fruits as examples. Separately, it says most agri-food goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will no longer need routine SPS certificates, checks and paperwork.
Logistics UK says its own analysis shows a comprehensive SPS deal could cut export costs on affected agri-food goods by up to 8% and save between £150 and £250 per consignment. It says the saving is particularly significant for groupage operators, which pay charges on every consignment within their mixed loads. Chief executive Ben Fletcher said: "Further progress towards concluding an SPS deal with the EU is hugely positive news for British businesses, including the logistics operators that drive economic growth by keeping trade moving."
Anthony Baldock, executive board chair of the Association of Port Health Authorities, welcomed efforts to make trade easier in a statement to trans.iNFO, but warned: "Removing a check does not remove the risk it was designed to manage." He called on the government to show that the projected savings are net savings, rather than costs moved to other public services or businesses.
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