UK and EU strike Brexit trade deal to slash food checks
Source: ft.com
- UK and EU reach first post-Brexit deal to ease trade friction on sanitary and phytosanitary rules for food and farming goods.
- The agreement scraps paperwork checks on 80 per cent of agri-food exports worth £5.6bn annually, saving businesses time and costs.
- It marks a step towards smoother trade but excludes bigger issues like fisheries, with more talks planned.
The UK and EU have struck a deal to simplify sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks - rules on food safety and plant health - for billions in trade. It involves key negotiators from both sides and targets red tape that's plagued exporters since Brexit. The core finding is that this paves the way for a broader trade reset. It matters because it cuts costs for farmers and food firms, potentially boosting UK-EU economic ties amid political pressure for better relations.