"Before Brexit, exporters could send chilled and fresh food to the EU without any paperwork because the UK was a member of the single market.
"However, the UK’s corresponding post-Brexit import checks have been pushed back on four occasions already: in 2020, twice in 2021 – partly because border infrastructure was not going to be ready on time – and then again last year by the then Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg."
A fifth delay on the introduction of post-Brexit import checks on food and fresh produce arriving in Britain is to be officially announced imminently, the Guardian understands.
The decision to once again push back plans to enforce the controls – which have been in place for exports from the UK to the EU – is linked to concerns that the move could further fuel food price inflation during the cost of living crisis, while traders have also asked for more time to adapt to the new rules.
The latest delay to border controls is intended to reduce the risk of new import charges being passed on to consumers, reigniting food inflation just as prices are thought to have peaked.
Businesses in the food industry and hauliers had also expressed their concern that uncertainty about the government’s final border strategy, known as the target operating model (TOM), left little time for them to adapt to the new rules.
However, the UK’s corresponding post-Brexit import checks have been pushed back on four occasions already: in 2020, twice in 2021 – partly because border infrastructure was not going to be ready on time – and then again last year by the then Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The move to delay import controls once again comes days after the government abandoned plans to force manufacturers to label their products with an alternative to the EU’s CE (conformité Européenne) safety mark.
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