Government plans to waive border checks on goods from the EU – including food and livestock – will put the country at risk of importing devastating infectious diseases such as African swine fever and compound serious damage to UK trade caused by Brexit.
The double warning has been issued by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) as ministers consider yet another postponement of post-Brexit inspections because of fears that checks will slow supply chains, add to bureaucracy and increase prices in shops at a time when UK consumers are already facing a cost of living crisis.
The already much-delayed rules, including a requirement for veterinary certificates and potential spot checks after arrival, were due to be phased in from 1 July.
Tough new rules on imports were initially hailed by Brexiters as examples of how leaving the EU would allow the UK to “take back control” of its borders.
But now, amid growing evidence that Brexit is harming trade, senior figures in government, led by the minister for “Brexit opportunities”, Jacob Rees-Mogg, have changed tack and decided that less control rather than more is needed over imports in order to speed the flow of goods and reduce costs.
But the relaxation of animal safety standards is worrying both UK vets and many in the farming community.
James Russell, the senior vice president of the BVA, told the Observer he would be raising the alarm when he gives evidence this month to MPs on the international trade select committee.
Russell said that dropping checks would not only endanger animal health and have serious consequences for the UK’s biosecurity but also compromise the UK’s reputation for high standards on animal and food safety, which in turn could damage the trust that overseas businesses have in UK produce.
He said: “If these controls are dropped there is a potential risk of an incursion of African swine fever which is spreading rapidly and has already had a catastrophic impact on animal health and agricultural industry in parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.
“Official veterinarians working at the border act as the country’s first line of defence of biosecurity, and we feel it would be deeply misguided to push back the need for these vital checks even further and in so doing weaken this layer of protection for both animal and public health.”
According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, African swine fever is “responsible for massive losses in pig populations and drastic economic consequences” and “has become a major crisis for the pork industry in recent years. Currently affecting several regions around the world, and with no effective vaccine, the disease is not only impeding animal health and welfare but has also detrimental impacts on biodiversity and the livelihoods of farmers.”
Russell added that if food substances were imported into the UK with no records of their origins and were then included in a “hybrid” product – such a pizza – that product would become more difficult to export into markets such as the EU where full details of product origins are needed.
A further delay is, however, sure to be welcomed by many UK businesses which are already struggling with food supply chain issues made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink, told the Financial Times last week that a decision to delay checks again would, however, infuriate UK exporters who had had to deal with mountains and paperwork and extra costs since the UK left the single market on 1 January last year.
“There’s no doubt this will stick in the throat of a lot of exporters who are now 15 months into navigating a tsunami of paperwork that our EU competitors are not facing.”
Ministers are conscious that the UK’s trade performance failed to recover from the pandemic nearly as fast as other leading economies according to recent data, with many blaming Brexit. The Office for Budget Responsibility has stuck to its prediction that leaving the EU will result in total UK imports and exports being 15% lower than if it had stayed inside the bloc. Last week the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, told the Treasury select committee that the UK’s poor trade performance compared with other G7 countries “might well be” due to Brexit.
