Whe Government has finally revealed the charges that businesses will be facing from the 30th April due to new Brexit border controls. The report—conducted by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)—revealed that imports and transits of animal products, plants, and plant products through the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel will now be subject to a Brexit tariff. The fee, referred to as the ‘common user charge’, will apply to small imports of food products such as cheese, fish, sausage, salami, and yoghurt.
About a quarter of the UK’s food imports pass through these two locations, so these new rules are likely to cause significant disruption.
The border controls were initially set to come into force in March 2021, but the UK government has delayed implementing them over fi ve times.
The government claim this is because they wanted to give businesses more time to prepare for the disruption that they will cause, allowing them to adapt to the new rules.
However, critics speculate that the real reason for the delay is because the Tories are concerned that the introduction of these controls will disrupt supply chains and add to the already high inflationary pressure, something they do not really want to do directly before an election.
The government estimates that these new rules will cost businesses around £330m per year.
As a result, food industry bodies have predicted that businesses and traders will pass these extra costs onto consumers, causing food prices to rise.
Others also fear that many EU businesses will reduce or stop their exports to the UK altogether due to the increased time, effort and cost from the new paperwork that is now required to trade with us.
In particular, trade associations express concerns for the British meat industry (as it imports around half of its pork from the EU) and for the lack of vets within the EU (who are needed to sign the new paperwork), which could significantly reduce supplies.
The new controls are also likely to be especially challenging for small businesses who lack the money and resources to complete the necessary paperwork, which could lead to their products disappearing from our shelves.
William Bain—the head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce—said: “The level of import charges shows scant regard to the interests of both businesses and consumers. A fl at rate fee for bringing most animal and plant products into the UK is a hammer blow for small and medium-sized importers. It’s also deeply concerning for retailers, cafes and restaurants.”
Labour have said that British businesses and shoppers were “rightly worried about prices being driven up again” and that it had warned about the “potential for chaos” from these new Brexit border checks.
When questioned on what a Labour government would do to help mitigate these issues, Shadow Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “Labour has a plan to reduce costly bureaucracy, through seeking to negotiate a veterinary agreement with the EU to massively reduce the need for checks, helping make food cheaper and our businesses more competitive.”