Natural controls on fresh foods and plants by the EU were due to begin in July but have been postponed to the end of 2023, Brexit Minister for Opportunities Jacob Rees-Mogg confirmed in a written statement issued on Thursday. Instead, it announced plans to digitize all border controls and documents, with a new strategy to be released in the fall. The decision not to impose controls means that Britain will continue to essentially rely on the EU to monitor food and plant safety. Food producers said they were at a disadvantage compared to European competitors who would have less bureaucracy to deal with. The British Ports Association (BPA), an industry lobby group, said it was concerned that the expensive border crossings, which are subsidized by almost 200 200m from the taxpayer, might never be used. The group said its members would seek permission to bulldoz new buildings if the government confirmed that was the case. Richard Ballantyne, CEO of BPA, said the ports were rushing to prepare the infrastructure on time: “This announcement is a major policy change, which means the facility will become essentially white elephants, wasting millions of pounds of public and private funding.” Ports had already begun hiring staff in preparation for the additional post-Brexit controls. The government, meanwhile, has spent public money on building border checkpoints in locations where there was not enough space on the waterfront. While the EU introduced controls on goods arriving from the UK shortly after Brexit, ministers are now aiming for a new border control regime in late 2023, three years after the end of the Brexit transition period. Checks on meat were to start on 1 July and on dairy on 1 September, with all other goods, including fish and compound foods, subject to checks from 1 November. No date has yet been agreed for controls on live animals. During a tour of the Eurotunnel’s Folkestone facility on Thursday, Rees-Mogg admitted that money had been spent on facilities he may now no longer need. “I accept that some money has been spent on preparing for July 1, which will not be needed now, but the ports will benefit, as they tell the Eurotunnel, from easing the flow,” he told the Guardian. Rees-Mogg said the move could save British companies “up to 1 1 billion in annual costs”, although all post-Brexit documents and controls already in place would remain in place. He said it would be wrong to impose new controls now, in a cost-of-life crisis, as this could further raise food prices. The Eurotunnel operator, which handles a quarter of all trade between the UK and the EU, welcomed the announcement. “We would have to check more certificates, more declarations, and we could not board trucks that did not have the proper documents to accompany the goods,” said John Keefe, director of public affairs at Getlink. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk However, the National Farmers’ Union called the move “unacceptable” and said it was another blow to British food producers as they struggled with rising costs. “This is a matter of justice,” said NFU President Minette Batters, describing import controls as “vital to the country’s biosafety, animal health and food safety.” “Our producers must adhere to strict controls to export their products abroad, while remaining at a competitive disadvantage for our competitors in the EU, who continue to enjoy an extended grace period giving them access to the award-winning United States market. Basel with relative cost and charge. for free, “he said. “Without them we really put ourselves in danger.”
