Import Checks on EU Food and Animal Products

UK Government Response, April 19th

In response to the headlines today, the Government issued the following update via the Defra Press Office regarding the upcoming border checks:

There has been reporting this morning (19 April) claiming that health and safety checks for EU imports won’t be “turned on” as planned from April 30, 2024. This is not the case; as has been previously outlined, we will be commencing checks on April 30.

Please see the following link for the detailed response: https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/19/coverage-about-upcoming-border-checks/

Government Statement

A UK government spokesperson said:

"Checks are commencing from 30 April and, as we have always said, the medium and high-risk goods posing the greatest biosecurity risk are being prioritised as we build up to full check rates and high levels of compliance. Taking a pragmatic approach to introducing our new border checks minimises disruption, protects our biosecurity and benefits everyone – especially traders.

There has been extensive engagement with businesses over the past year – with our approach welcomed by several trade associations and port authorities. We will continue to work with and support businesses throughout this process to maintain the smooth flow of imported goods.

We are confident we have sufficient capacity and capability across all points of entry to handle the volume and type of expected checks. It is important to remember the cost of our border checks is negligible compared to the impact of a major disease outbreak on our economy and farmers."

Post-Brexit Border Controls

As new post-Brexit border controls kick in on April 30th, the UK government has reportedly informed port health officials that it will not “turn on” health and safety checks for EU imports.

According to the Financial Times, a presentation created by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) emphasised the possibility of "significant disruption" if the new regulations were put into place. It stated unequivocally that the systems will not be completed on schedule.

Several trade associations reportedly requested that the checks' implementation be postponed until at least autumn.

Five times already, the border restrictions have been postponed due to concerns that they may generate chaos and increase the inflation of petrol prices.

The UK Government stated in a press release dated January 31, 2024:

Controls introduced on April 30, 2024

• The new checks at the non-West Coast border on medium-risk EU-origin goods will be introduced.
• All goods to which import health controls apply will be required to enter via a point of entry that has the relevant Border Control Post or in the case of plants or plant products, a Control Point designation for those goods.
• Health certificates and routine checks at the border will no longer be required for low-risk animal products for imported from non-EU countries, with the exception of intelligence-led interventions on low-risk animal products.
• The requirements for import controls on certain low-risk plants and plant products from non-EU countries will start to be removed, where supported by risk assessments. Health certificates and routine checks at the border will not be required for such products.
• Medium-risk animal products will be subject to reduced levels of intervention at the border, with identity and physical check levels being lower than now for imports from non-EU countries.
• The introduction of Common Health Entry Documents (CHEDs) for all live animal, High-Risk Food and Feed of Non-Animal Origin (HRFNAO) and animal product imports from the EU is required to support the introduction of identity and physical checks from the end of April 2024. CHEDs will replace the Import Notifications (IMPs) currently required for live animal, HRFNAO and animal product imports from the EU. There is currently no HRFNAO of EU origin listed, so this requirement refers to where HRFNAO from outside the EU has been placed on the EU market and has not been subject to any further processing.

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