New streamlined post-Brexit checks on goods coming to the UK from the EU were finally being unveiled today — more than two years after Britain left the EU single market and customs union.
The Government has delayed the introduction of the checks four times in a bid to ease cost pressures on consumers and businesses already being hit by post-Covid supply chain issues and the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But the Cabinet Office confirmed today that the trade checks are set to come into force later this year.
“The Government is delivering on our ambition to have the world’s most effective border,” a Government spokesperson said. “Our new target operating model will reduce the need for checks for many types of goods.
“We are working with stakeholders and are taking a pragmatic approach to phasing in these controls to give business the opportunity to prepare.”
The Government says it is attempting to minimise disruption and has plans for a trusted trader programme to allow frequent importers to avoid many of the more stringent checks.
Inspections of food and animal products are likely to be the most thorough, but ministers hope to reduce them as much as feasibly possible with checks taking place away from the border.
While checks on goods and passport control are separate processes, port operators have reportedly been concerned about the impact on the border once the plans are in place.
Travel chaos engulfed Dover earlier over the weekend, as Easter holiday tourists attempted to make their way to France but were met with long queues amid border checks. The queues had cleared by Monday morning but there are fears congestion could return over the Easter holiday weekend and during other peak periods due to French border officials carrying out extra checks and stamping UK passports following Brexit.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said at the weekend it would not be fair to view the delays as “an adverse effect of Brexit”. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman blamed a “combination of factors”, including French border officers “inspecting and stamping every single passport”. But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Brexit had “of course” had an impact, and called for greater planning for future holiday seasons.
Anand Menon, of the think-tank UK in a Changing Europe, said of the introduction of the goods checks: “It has been a long time in the making and it’s still not beyond the realms of possibility it will be delayed again... the obvious thing is that this will add more friction to a relationship where there was previously no friction. If we are serious about controlling our borders that could be quite serious.”
