UK delays full post-Brexit import checks until 2023

The UK's remaining post-Brexit border controls have been postponed again, the government said on Thursday, blaming rising energy costs and the Ukraine crisis.

Certification and physical checks on food and animal goods from the European Union were initially due to be introduced on January 1 this year.

The controls were then put back to July 2022, due to supply chain disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and increased immigration red tape.

Full customs declarations and controls were introduced on January 1, as planned.

But the Cabinet Office said the remaining measures "will no longer be introduced this year" and would instead come into force "at the end of 2023."

The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the hike in global energy prices have had a "significant" effect on supply chains still struggling to recover from the pandemic.

"The government has... concluded that it would be wrong to impose new administrative requirements on businesses who may pass on the associated costs to consumers already facing pressures on their finances," the department said in a statement.

The government said the postponement would save UK importers at least 1 billion pounds (US$1.25 billion) in annual costs.

The minister for Brexit opportunities, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said the government was in discussion with industry to review how best to implement new controls.

"We want the process for importing goods from the EU to be safe, secure and efficient and we want to harness innovative new technologies to streamline processes and reduce frictions," he added.

When the UK was part of the EU, imports from other member states were not subject to customs checks.

The reintroduction of border controls on both sides of the Channel has seen hauliers facing more paperwork, causing frustrating delays, and increasing costs.

Industry bodies had warned the government that the planned new checks in July would drive up the price of food, as consumers battled soaring inflation.

Subjecting a host of everyday products in supermarkets to physical checks and certification would disrupt supply chains and leave empty shelves, they added.

The UK in a Changing Europe think-tank this week said trade barriers created by Brexit has already seen food prices rise by six percent.

UK exporters have faced full checks ever since Brexit took effect.

The London School of Economics this week said this had put the EU in a stronger position, and UK exports to the bloc had fallen by a third since January 2021.

"Brexit has brought nothing but cost, complexity and pain for food and drink businesses trying to sell to our biggest market," said James Withers, of Scotland Food & Drink, an industry body.

"All the while our EU competitors continue to have a completely free ride selling to us," he told the PoliticsHome website.

"It is just an huge own goal and the promise to control our borders has turned to dust yet again."