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Import Controls: UK Trade with EU

Asked by Ben GoldsboroughLabourDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled Answered 20 October 2025UIN 80334

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the UK's withdrawal from the EU on (a) biosecurity arrangements and (b) the illegal importation of food products.

Answered by Dame Angela Eagle

The biosecurity arrangements and regulatory frameworks for imports are no longer the same as when we were in the EU. Since leaving the EU, we have put in place sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules for importing food products from the EU into Great Britain and amended SPS rules for importing food products from the rest of the world in line with the Border Target Operating Model.

The Government Major Projects Portfolio has approved a monitoring and evaluation plan for the Borders, Boundaries and Trade Programme which will explore questions relating to the performance and effectiveness of the Border target Operating Model.

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