You just kind of give up because you’re losing money,
Jon Walsh said. The United Kingdom and the European Union have agreed on a 200-page draft sanitary and phytosanitary agreement aimed at removing post-Brexit border checks, export health certificates, and regulatory red tape on food and agricultural trade. Circulated to member states in Brussels ahead of a November 20 summit, the proposed framework is designed to eliminate routine physical inspections and streamline supply chains that have faced severe friction since the UK exited the single market.
Draft Deal Aims to Cut Red Tape
The agreement is expected to deliver £5.1 billion in annual economic benefits, according to government projections cited by the BBC.
The draft text addresses non-tariff barriers that have weighed heavily on British food exporters and supermarkets since 2022. According to Anadolu, the pact would eliminate the need for £200 export health certificates, £25 phytosanitary certificates, inspector fees, organic certificates, certain port charges, and sampling fees. As a result of the agreement, exports of fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters, and seed potatoes will be able to resume, alongside the return of passports for British pets taken into the EU.
Smaller retailers such as delicatessens will also be able to return to buying smaller batches of cheese and wines, overcoming costs that became prohibitive following the introduction of post-Brexit checks. The text also includes provisions to radically reduce the impact of the Irish Sea border, ending requirements for products arriving at Northern Ireland ports.
Regulations Set for Alignment
In return for removing the checks, the UK is expected to commit to observing and adapting to existing EU regulations on plant, animal, and food trade standards, a process officially termed dynamic alignment
.
While UK rules have largely remained aligned with the bloc, divergence has occurred in specific areas, such as precision breeding and fungicides used during wet weather. According to The Guardian, the sanitary deal is not expected to be fully implemented until the first quarter of 2028. The phytosanitary deal is not expected to be fully implemented until the first quarter of 2028, following a six-month delay to the second EU-UK summit caused by a change in UK prime minister.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has briefed industry leaders that implementation may extend into 2028 to accommodate a transition period for key products. The legislative changes required to implement the framework are expected to renew political debate over whether the UK functions as a rule taker rather than a rule maker. The government has announced a European Partnerships Bill to provide the necessary legal mechanism for applying new European regulations, which will also facilitate the linking of the UK and EU emissions trading schemes.
Business Leaders Welcome the Framework
Business representatives have welcomed the draft framework while acknowledging the regulatory trade-offs involved. William Bain, the British Chamber of Commerce’s head of trade policy, told the BBC’s Today programme that businesses viewed regulatory alignment as a price worth paying to achieve lower costs, reduced delays and increased market access.
A survey by the business lobby group indicated that 56 percent of exporting businesses and 58 percent of manufacturers want EU customs paperwork and delays removed to support growth.
Jon Walsh, chief executive and co-founder of Bio&Me, told BBC 5 Live that previous export attempts resulted in direct financial losses due to mandatory veterinary inspection fees of £140 per pallet. Businesses viewed regulatory alignment as a price worth paying to achieve lower costs, reduced delays and increased market access