UK could accept EU food and drink rules to ease Brexit import checks

The UK is open to aligning with some EU food and drink rules to ease trade frictions, Bloomberg noted, Report informs via Euractiv.

Such a deal would mark a stunning departure from longstanding British opposition to rule-taking from Brussels and signal further rapprochement between the bloc and its only ex-member amid ongoing talks to reset their relationship.

The move, which would see the EU's top court play some role in interpreting laws applied in the UK, could also ease trade frictions significantly between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

The UK is willing to accept so-called dynamic alignment on some rules on fresh meat and dairy, Bloomberg reports – meaning that as laws or standards change in the EU, the UK would update their own rulebook accordingly to avoid divergence.

Economists such as those at the UK-based Resolution Foundation estimate that such regulatory alignment would bring "significant economic gains" for the UK.

Former conservative ministers took to social media en masse late Monday and into Tuesday to decry a "betrayal" of Brexit. Lord David Frost, who was the UK's lead negotiator of the trade deal likely to be tweaked, attacked the Starmer government's possible move as "terrible".

UK alignment with relatively stringent EU agrifood standards would significantly complicate any food trade deal with the US, where standards are more relaxed. However, US Vice President JD Vance said on Monday in an interview with British outlet UnHerd that there is a "good chance" of a "great" deal.

Starmer has rejected suggestions that Britain must choose between deeper ties with either Europe or the US, instead positioning himself as a "bridge" between the two. He declined to retaliate against US tariffs and offered Trump a state visit to meet King Charles III – whom Trump has described as a "beautiful man."

The proposal on food checks was discussed in preparation for a May 19 summit between the two sides, alongside talks on emissions trading schemes and fishing rights, Bloomberg reports. A defense and security pact is widely anticipated to be the centerpiece announcement.

The UK's independent economic forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility, estimates that Brexit will wipe 4% off long-term productivity compared to if it had remained in the EU.

After leaving the bloc in 2020, the UK delayed checks on food imports from the EU several times as businesses feared mammoth queues at ports and economic harm. Most were finally imposed last April.