The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal to remove post-Brexit checks on food and agriculture exports, according to the BBC. The BBC understands the 200-page draft text of this so-called "SPS" (sanitary and phytosanitary) agreement has been circulated to EU nations in Brussels for consideration at a meeting on Wednesday, ahead of a UK-EU summit later this month.
The draft would remove the need for £200 Export Health Certificates, £25 Phytosanitary certificates, inspector fees, organic certificates, some port fees, sampling fees and other checks on exports and imports to and from the EU. The government claims the UK economy will eventually see £5.1bn worth of annual benefits.
Under the agreement, the UK would commit to observing and adapting to existing EU rules on plant, animal and food trade standards, a process called "dynamic alignment." UK exports to the EU of fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters and seed potatoes would also be able to resume. The deal would also allow passports for UK pets taken into the EU.
Similar draft texts on emissions trading and a youth travel and work scheme have also been circulated, alongside a 15-page draft joint statement for top leaders. The BBC reports that the draft agreements will be discussed by EU ambassadors on Wednesday, and some details of the youth scheme are still to be finalised at a political level.
The BCC, a business lobby group, said the current trade relationship is "failing to deliver." Shevaun Havilland, its director general, said: "The evidence from businesses suggests that the prime minister is right to have initiated a conversation on our future relationship with Europe, and he deserves real credit for having done so." Some pro-Brexit campaigners have criticised the reapplication of EU rules, according to the BBC.