Logistics UK has welcomed the recent UK-EU agreement on easing border checks for plant and animal products, calling it a positive move toward resetting trade relations and strengthening the UK Internal Market.
Announced at the UK-EU Summit, the revised approach to Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks could significantly reduce the red tape, cost and delays currently faced by traders moving agrifood goods between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the EU.
The proposals are expected to be particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises and groupage operators who are disproportionately affected by current rules.
Nichola Mallon, Logistics UK’s Head of Trade and Devolved Policy, cautiously welcomed the development.
“The new deal has the potential to drive growth throughout the UK by boosting GB agrifood trade to NI, and between GB and the EU, through reduced bureaucracy, costs and border delays.
"While the technical details have yet to be agreed, our members will welcome the deal in principle."
She stressed that urgent progress is now needed to finalise and implement the agreement, in close consultation with businesses:
"It is now vital that the technical discussions and implementation, shaped by the input of businesses which have the expertise, are completed as a matter of urgency, so that UK traders and logistics businesses can realise the benefits of trading under the revised terms."
Currently, SPS checks on goods moving between the UK and EU add considerable cost and complexity to logistics, particularly for operators combining multiple small consignments.
Logistics UK has long advocated for a comprehensive SPS agreement and views this development as a step forward in improving the flow of goods while maintaining biosecurity.
Mallon added that further work is needed to address other barriers still facing the logistics sector, including customs complications and restrictions linked to the Schengen Area’s 90/180-day rule, which affects services like touring artists.
“Logistics UK will continue to urge the UK government and EU to be ambitious in this ongoing reset of relations and in the upcoming Review of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement,” she said.
“As always, our industry stands ready to provide real-world advice and expertise to governments on both sides of the Channel to ease the passage of goods to the end user.”