UK Trade with EU: Animals and Food

(asked on 30th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, what assessment he has made of the effect of the frequency of sanitary and phytosanitary checks on the profitability of UK food, drink and live animal exporters.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 15th January 2021

The UK has secured its top priorities on sanitary and phytosanitary measures: autonomy for our domestic regime, protection of our biosecurity and proportionate risk-based controls. The agreement allows the UK and the EU to cooperate on avoiding unnecessary sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to trade in agri-food goods, including potential reductions in the frequency of import checks, where justified.

The EU and UK being geographically close, and close as trading partners, have a number of common pathogen risks, a similar health status and biosecurity aims. We should focus resources on checks that support us both to address any risks. We will seek to reduce checks safely through the regular dialogue both sides have committed to in the agreement. Over time, this will help to reduce any burden on businesses. Taken alongside other elements of the TCA such as zero tariffs and zero quota, this represents a good outcome for the UK's agri-food industry. We have also agreed to exchange information and expertise on animal welfare, particularly relating to transportation and slaughter of food-producing animals, and other issues.

Reticulating Splines