Brexit cuts both ways with new border controls

From today, the Brexit shoe is on the other foot: border controls on EU goods heading into the UK start being enforced as they have been on British goods moving in the opposite direction for the past three years. As the redoubtable Peter Foster (formerly of the Telegraph, now with the FT) notes on Times Radio, a lot of people in the UK don’t realise that EU exporters to Britain have so far been given a free pass on these controls. The UK government quite sensibly didn’t want empty shelves, especially of Chablis and camembert in Tory heartland supermarkets. That ended with the introduction of the first of three phases of border controls this morning. Food imports from the EU now need export health certificates with details of their provenance and health effects. Phase two consists of physical inspections starting in April. Phase three starts in October, when all EU goods, not just foods, will need safety and security declarations which – if British exporters’ experience is any guide – will add significantly to European hauliers’ costs. Will EU exporters bother with the UK any more? The EU accounts for 53 per cent of UK exports but the UK accounts for only 5.9 per cent of EU exports. Stock up on French butter now.