FDF Response to the Government's paper on customs arrangements
15 August 2017
FDF Response to the Government's paper on customs arrangements
Commenting on the Government's paper on future customs arrangements, Ian Wright CBE, Director General of the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said:
“The UK Government's drive for greater clarity on the Brexit process is most welcome. The proposals for an interim customs regime, if they can be agreed, go some way in protecting business from a 'cliff edge'. FDF's priority is to ensure that our access to EU markets is not undermined during the transition period. Ensuring a single point of change would help to minimise unnecessary disruption for businesses that have established trading relationships with the EU.
The real challenge will then follow in designing and negotiating a model that maintains these benefits beyond the transition period, delivering the same ease of trading that UK food and drink currently enjoys with the EU27, with zero tariffs and no new regulatory or other non-tariff barriers. As the UK's largest manufacturing sector, our success is inextricably linked to our ability to import and export raw ingredients and finished goods across borders. Nowhere is this more the case than with our Irish neighbours. We will be looking carefully at the detail of the paper and will continue working closely with Government to ensure the future customs model works for UK food and drink manufacturers, allowing them to maintain the quality, choice and value that consumers demand.”
More Information
Contact Ella Stanbrook, Corporate Affairs Division, at: ella.stanbrook@fdf.org.uk, or 02074207131.
