UK and EU agree deal to remove Brexit checks on food and animal products

Agreement to ease rules on food imports and exports is expected to come into force in first quarter of 2028

The EU and the UK have completed their deal to remove Brexit checks on imports and exports of food and animal products ranging from sausages and cheese to leather goods and flowers.

A wider series of mini-deals expected to be sealed at a UK-EU summit on 20 November would also result in Britain once again contributing to the EU budget as the price of rejoining a single electricity market.

It will prove a boon for British food exporters and will also mean smaller retailers in the UK such as delicatessens can return to buying smaller batches of cheese and wines, something that became impossible because of the cost of Brexit…