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Farmers wanting to know what the EU/UK deal will mean for them – we’ll be looking through the details in the coming days. In the meantime, our initial take for NFU members is here:
https://www.nfuonline.com/news/eu-exit/eu-exit-news/the-deal-what-does-it-mean-for-farmers/
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https://www.nfuonline.com/news/eu-exit/eu-exit-news/the-deal-what-does-it-mean-for-farmers/
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Top line - the deal is good news in that it means no tariffs are payable on goods being traded between the EU and the UK. BUT – the deal hasn’t averted most of the big changes coming in a matter of days. 2/
Some of the biggest aspects of the deal itself that will have an impact on farmers, for instance how the level playing field and SPS provisions work, and what that means for UK agricultural and environmental regulations in future, are unlikely to have an immediate impact. 3/
INSTEAD, the fact that we are leaving the customs union and the single market on January 1st (which would happen deal or no deal) will begin to have an impact straight away – perhaps modest to begin with but growing over the weeks. 4/
These new requirements on trade with the EU – e.g new paperwork & checks - and the potential for delays, haven't changed much as a result of the deal. So be prepared for disruption. We’ve prepared a toolkit for members to help navigate the changes. 5/ https://www.nfuonline.com/news/eu-exit/eu-exit-news/uk-farmings-future-relationship-with-the-eu-member-toolkit/
You may also have spotted that the deal has not yet been ratified! This is true – next Wednesday the UK Parliament will be asked to agree to the deal. And in the weeks ahead in the EU – with the deal provisionally applied in the interim… 6/ https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2020/december/house-of-commons-recalled-on-30-december-2020/
…so a few hurdles left, but (famous last word) none that are likely to stop the terms of the deal coming into effect - and of course if there were a last minute hitch, the changes in trading requirements still land on Jan 1st. 7/
For those wanting more detail on how to prepare for change, particularly those who trade directly with businesses in the EU or NI (import and export), the industry has a useful web resource here:
https://euexitfoodhub.co.uk/
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https://euexitfoodhub.co.uk/
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In the meantime, stay tuned to the NFU’s EU Exit web pages for more information in the days ahead:
https://www.nfuonline.com/news/eu-exit/
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https://www.nfuonline.com/news/eu-exit/
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PS - I just write these threads. The invaluable, hard work that actually goes into our published content is done by my betters, @GailSoutar1978 @ToriMorgan91 and @EmilyRoads_
