UK and EU agree draft deal to scrap Brexit red tape over food exports

The proposed SPS agreement is a UK-EU deal on sanitary and phytosanitary rules. These cover health protections for animals, food, plants and plant products. Its purpose is to remove much of the paperwork and inspection system introduced after the UK left the EU single market. The draft text runs to 200 pages.

The agreement could allow exports of fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters and seed potatoes to resume. It would also cover wider food, animal and plant trade by removing export certificates, inspections and other requirements. British pets travelling to the EU could again use pet passports.

In return, the UK is expected to follow and adapt to changing EU standards through dynamic alignment. EU ambassadors were due to discuss the draft at Coreper. The government says the agreement could eventually deliver £5.1bn in annual economic benefits, although the article describes it as a draft still awaiting consideration.

The draft deal could remove several costs and checks that exporters currently face when trading with the EU. These include £200 Export Health Certificates, which confirm that food meets the destination country's health requirements. It could also remove £25 phytosanitary certificates for plants and plant products.

Other possible savings include inspector fees, organic certificates, some port fees and additional checks on exports and imports. The article gives a practical example from Bio&Me: the company paid a vet £140 to inspect each pallet of yoghurt before export. Those costs made some shipments unprofitable.

The exact final charges and exemptions depend on the agreement being approved and implemented. The government claims the wider deal could eventually benefit the UK economy by £5.1bn annually. Until the draft becomes an operating arrangement, exporters cannot assume every listed charge will disappear.

The draft agreement could reopen or simplify trade in several products blocked or discouraged by post-Brexit requirements. Fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish caught in domestic waters and seed potatoes are specifically named as exports that could resume. The arrangement could also make other food and agricultural shipments easier.

The key mechanism is the removal of certificates, inspections, fees and other checks. That would reduce the cost and time of sending goods across the Channel. Bio&Me said it had to stop exporting yoghurt because each pallet needed a vet inspection costing £140. Some granola and overnight-oats shipments were returned after inconsistent paperwork problems.

The article does not provide a forecast for export volumes. It indicates that trade could become more commercially workable, particularly for smaller exporters. The government projects £5.1bn in eventual annual economic benefits, but the deal remains a draft awaiting EU consideration.

Before Brexit, the UK was inside the EU single market, where shared rules made trade between members relatively straightforward. After leaving, UK food and agricultural exports became subject to new controls for trade with the EU. These controls were designed to verify that products met EU health, safety and plant-health requirements.

In practice, exporters could need an Export Health Certificate for animal products and a phytosanitary certificate for plants. Shipments could also face veterinary inspections, organic certification, port fees and other checks. The article describes a £140 vet inspection for each Bio&Me yoghurt pallet, while certificates could cost £200 or £25.

The result was extra expense, delays and uncertainty. Bio&Me stopped exporting some products, and some granola and overnight-oats shipments were returned. The proposed SPS deal aims to reduce these barriers by bringing UK and EU requirements closer together and removing many routine checks.

Dynamic alignment is the proposed process under which the UK would observe and adapt to EU regulations covering plant, animal and food trade standards. It differs from a one-time promise to match the rules. The UK would need to respond when the EU changes its rulebook.

This matters because shared requirements can make cross-border trade more predictable. If UK standards continue to match EU standards, exporters may face fewer disputes, certificates and inspections. The agreement could therefore support smoother trade in food, plants and agricultural products. British pets travelling to the EU could also regain access to pet passports.

The political cost is that the UK would accept a continuing connection to EU rule-making without being an EU member. Kemi Badenoch called dynamic alignment a red line, while the government has proposed a European Partnerships Bill to provide a legal mechanism for applying new EU rules and regulations.

The article does not explain how the proposed SPS agreement would affect Northern Ireland or the Irish Sea border. It focuses on UK-EU food and agricultural exports, the draft rules, and the wider Brexit reset. Therefore, the agreement’s specific Northern Ireland arrangements cannot be established from this text.

More generally, SPS rules matter greatly wherever food, animals, plants or plant products cross a regulatory boundary. Northern Ireland’s position is especially sensitive because it is part of the UK while sharing a land border with Ireland, an EU member. Rules affecting goods moving between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland can therefore influence where checks are needed.

The draft might reduce some relevant friction if its coverage applied to those movements, but the article gives no details on that point. Its stated next step is discussion by EU ambassadors, with the final terms still under consideration.

A single market reduces trade friction by using common rules for products, safety and other standards. Businesses can trade more easily when goods meet one shared regulatory system. A customs union addresses a different problem: members remove or reduce customs barriers between themselves and apply a common approach to tariffs on goods from outside the union.

Together, these arrangements can reduce border paperwork, repeated checks and uncertainty. They do not necessarily remove every control, but they make cross-border commerce more integrated. The proposed SPS deal is narrower because it focuses on food, animal and plant-health rules rather than recreating the entire single market or customs union.

The trade-off is political choice. Single-market participation requires accepting shared or aligned regulations. A customs union limits independent control over external trade tariffs and policy. The article reflects this debate: some call the draft a patch, while others warn alignment could reduce sovereignty and competitiveness.