The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal to remove post-Brexit checks on food and agriculture exports, according to the BBC. The 200-page draft text for the so-called "SPS" (sanitary and phytosanitary) agreement has been circulated to EU nations in Brussels for consideration at a meeting on Wednesday, ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month.
The BBC reports that the deal would remove the need for £200 Export Health Certificates, £25 phytosanitary certificates, inspector fees, organic certificates, some port fees, sampling fees and other checks on exports and imports to and from the EU. The government claims the UK economy will eventually see £5.1bn in annual benefits.
Under the agreement, the UK would commit to observing and adapting to existing EU rules on plant, animal and food trade standards, a process called "dynamic alignment." The BBC notes that UK rules remain mostly aligned with EU ones, but England has diverged in some areas, such as "precision breeding" of plants, previously known as gene editing.
The draft would allow UK exports of fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters and seed potatoes to resume. It would also allow for passports for UK pets taken into the EU.
Supermarkets and farmers' representatives have backed the food trade plans, according to the report. Some pro-Brexit campaigners have criticised the reapplication of EU rules.
The British Chamber of Commerce said in a new analysis that the current trade relationship is "failing to deliver." It offers nine options for a closer relationship, including a customs union, a "Swiss-style" Single Market relationship and a "Canada model" associate membership. The BCC says 56% of exporting businesses it surveyed want EU customs paperwork and delays removed, rising to 58% of manufacturers.