Overview

• The government confirmed it wants a long-term agrifood agreement with the EU in place by 2027, converting temporary measures into a permanent deal.
• Official data show 328,727 export health certificates were issued in 2024 at £113–£200 each, costing firms an estimated £37m–£65m that ministers vow to remove.
• Temporary steps introduced in June halted checks and fees on some EU fruit and vegetables, with those exemptions due to expire in January 2027.
• Ministers also canceled planned checks on live animal imports from the EU and on animal and plant goods from Ireland, part of efforts to ease trade frictions.
• Nick Thomas-Symonds will argue the plan lowers costs and reduces paperwork, as Conservatives and Reform UK label it a loss of sovereignty; talks on the SPS deal are slated to begin in the fall with red lines of no return to the Single Market or Customs Union.