NPA briefing highlights imbalance of new UK-EU trading arrangements
7th Jul 2021 / By Alistair Driver
The NPA has published a briefing on the the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which highlights some of the issues it raises for the UK pork sector.
While the NPA welcomes the TCA, it is bringing additional bureaucracy and costs to exporting to Europe, while the equivalent checks the other way have been delayed until 2022.
- You can view all of the NPA's briefings on a variety of subjects HERE
"We are concerned that the Government has delayed the phasing in of import checks on goods from the EU," the briefing states.
"The Government has taken the decision to phase in checks over an extended period because it fears a lack of preparedness will lead to interruption in the food supply chain but this delay to implementation has created an imbalance between import and exports, giving EU companies a competitive advantage.
"There is very little urgency in Brussels to resolve trading issues when EU products can flow freely into the UK."
Thr briefing also highlights how the failure to build Border Control Posts (BCPs) on the European side of the Channel makes the export of live pigs for breeding currently impossible.
"This must be resolved as a matter of urgency so that this valuable trade in genetics can restart. However, this is not solely an issue for governments because BCPs are usually commercial entities owned by ports," it says.