Background
As part of preparations for exiting the EU, Defra are continuing to create guidance to ensure that businesses are aware of forthcoming changes and ready for day one in a potential 'no deal' scenario. The Agri-Food Chain Stakeholder Engagement team has shared seven key food, drink and agriculture related government communications that have been released in recent days and weeks.
How to import organic produce if the UK leaves the EU with no deal – Certificate of Inspection
If the UK leaves the EU with no deal, the way in which we import organic produce will change as we will lose access to TRACES NT. Imports from third countries (excluding the EU, EEA and Switzerland until 31 December 2020) will still require a Certificate of Inspection (CoI). This will be a UK CoI and will be a manual system for an interim period until an electronic replacement is available. This system mirrors the system that was in place 17 months ago.
Defra have circulated the CoI template, guidance and resources to a number of stakeholders and are working on updating their webpages.
