At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, the second phase of the 2021 Brexit trade agreement's border control measures kicked in.
From now on, physical checks of various consumables will be implemented at the United Kingdom border.
The implementation of the new border control has been delayed on multiple occasions and as recently as earlier this month. According to the British Meat Processors Association, the UK government had not “given any indication of when and how” the border checks would be implemented as of April 19, 2024.
British businesses are expected to absorb added administrative costs and pay an additional import fee to the UK government.
Many UK businesses are reportedly sounding the alarm that the increase in import costs will lead to noticeable rises in prices for the consumer.
Nevertheless, the UK government describes the surging costs as “negligible,” according to the BBC, claiming that the new border checks will “improve our biosecurity.”
However, the BBC also reports that the UK imports 22% of its beef, 21% of its sheep, and 49% of its pork, with the majority coming from EU countries.
In 2016, almost 52% of British voters chose to leave the European Union, while just over 48% voted to remain, leading to 'Brexit'—the British exit from the EU.
Brexit officially went into effect on February 1, 2020.