Apr 28th, 2022
4 mins
A written ministerial statement has been published today (Thursday 28th April 2022) by the cabinet office announcing that they will NOT be introducing any new import control measures from July 2022. i.e., everything that was going to be included in the 3 import phases (July, Sept, Nov) will NOT now happen and there will be no changes to the import controls currently in force.
Note: this is for global trade and not just GB-EU trade.
Defra is now conducting a review of the policy and processes with a view to simplifying the whole import process. With it they are committing to having a digitised end to end solution before it is brought in. the target date is still to be announced but it will be no later than 2023.
Defra have indicated that they are looking to produce something that is fully proportionate to the risks involved so for example, it may be that in the longer term some lower risk POAO may not require certification in the longer term, although this is still to be confirmed.
Defra will be working with industry and veterinary colleagues on the detail with a view to announcing the dates after the summer break.
Checks into BCPs will also be paused – this will likely be until early 2023 then the new import regime for the reminder of 2023 will likely come later in 2023.
Note, on plant imports the end-to-end digitisation work appears to be going well.
The rationale behind this move is that with the cost-of-living crisis and the war in the Ukraine etc anything over and above that would add further cost and friction to what is already a fragile situation and would not be helpful.
As you can imagine, several government to industry meetings are now scheduled for the coming days. We will keep members updated with any further detail but in the meantime you can read the full statement from Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government efficiency here
