Import Controls

(asked on 18th September 2023) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the readiness of (1) EU exporters, and (2) rest of world exporters, for importing goods into the UK under the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model.


Answered by
Baroness Neville-Rolfe Portrait
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This question was answered on 2nd October 2023

The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) outlines a pragmatic and phased implementation approach starting from January 31 2024, designed to give all relevant parties sufficient time to prepare ahead of its introduction.

We will continue to engage with and monitor the sentiment of stakeholders across all parts of the United Kingdom, affected sectors, and our trading partners around the world to ensure readiness for the phased introduction of our new model.

The Government will run a series of in-person and online engagement events, and publish guidance detailing actions required as a result of the changes on GOV.UK. For example, we will work closely with our key trading partners to ensure the capacity and availability of certifiers for Export Health Certificates does not become a barrier to trade.

To ensure our own readiness for implementing the Model, departments with specific responsibilities will run and end-to-end operational testing, working with industry to identify any issues and support a smooth transition for each phase of the Model.

The Model represents an estimated £520 million saving for all importers compared to the Model originally planned for introduction in 2022. The actual cost to business will greatly depend on how businesses adapt their business models and supply chains to integrate the Model. As outlined in the BTOM, we estimate the costs of the Model at £330 million per annum overall, across all EU imports, which is around 0.13% of the overall value of EU goods imports to Great Britain. We estimate the measures introduced through the BTOM would have a minimal impact on consumer food price inflation of less than 0.2% in total over a 3-year period.

In contrast, an outbreak of a major disease could have a much more significant impact: the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease cost £12.8 billion in 2022 prices, £4.8 billion of which was cost to Government and £8 billion cost to the private sector.

The Government ran a consultation on charges for Government owned Border Control Posts from 12 June to 9 July, including a call for views on our intention to administer a single Common User Charge for eligible Sanitary and Phytosanitary consignments at government-run Border Control Posts. The outcome of this consultation will be published shortly.

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