The government is facing calls to guarantee there will be no shortage of red roses for Valentine’s Day caused by new post-Brexit border checks.
Goods from the UK have faced EU controls since it left the bloc’s single market at the start of 2021.
However, equivalent checks on products coming from the EU to the UK have been delayed five times, with new paperwork requirements for imported animal and plant produce only coming into force at the end of this month.
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That will be followed by physical inspections starting in April and then further safety and security declarations required in October, under a new post-Brexit system called the Border Trade Operating Model (BTOM).
Labour MP Daniel Zeichner said those dealing with plant and animal health products “are seriously worried” about the changes.
He told the Commons: “Indeed, the chair of the Horticultural Trade Association pointed out that the process of importing a petunia from the Netherlands has already increased from 19 to 59 steps, and he warns the new border is a disaster waiting to happen.”
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In a dig at recent Tory infighting, he asked trade minister Greg Hands: “So what’s the minister doing to ensure that we’ll have a plentiful supply of imported red roses for Valentine’s Day, especially for all those Conservatives on the other side who love each other so much?”
Mr Hands replied: “Well, I’m feeling his love this morning, thank you.”
He said the government has consulted “very widely” on the BTOM “to make sure businesses are aware and the introduction of this will be staged”.
The minister added that the new model will “simplify border processes for both imports and exports”, and that Mr Zeichner should be more concerned about Labour’s plans.
“This week the EU ambassador to London revealed the fact that Labour’s desire for a food and veterinary agreement is likely to lead to closer, dynamic alignment between London and Brussels in the future, which is directly against his party leader’s stated policy of no dynamic alignment,” he warned.
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It comes after the Dutch Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products wrote to the government calling for a delay in introducing the checks until 2025, saying the requirements come ahead of a peak season driven by Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day.
James Barnes, chairman of the UK’s Horticultural Trades Association, said Brexit had already introduced delays to imports, and that these could get worse under the new regime.
He told the Financial Times: “We think that the new border is a disaster waiting to happen.
“The fundamental issue is that the infrastructure isn’t in place to cope with the volume of trade that’s coming through.”
Chris Bonnett, the founder of Gardening Express, has also said the new checks will lead to a shortage of flowers, warning it’s “likely that consumers will face the brunt of it all with increased prices of flowers and plants”.
Other industry bodies, such as the British Chambers of Commerce and The Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT), have raised concerns about whether smaller businesses in the EU will even be aware of the new requirements, let alone ready.
There are fears that while UK businesses were prepared to absorb additional costs in order to keep trading with the EU after Brexit, the smaller size of the UK market might make European business less willing to follow suit.
The government has admitted that the new risk-based checks will cost businesses £330m in additional red tape.
But it argues they are essential for maintaining UK biosecurity while creating a level playing field for British exporters who have faced such checks since 2021.
