New import regulations on meat and dairy that kick in tomorrow (January 31st) need urgent clarification, warns the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

A lack of clarity means food processing firms in Gloucestershire and the wider UK firms remain in the dark about crucial aspects of the new laws' operation.

Phase one of the UK's Border Target Operating Model will begin on Wednesday, with imports of plant and animal products now requiring export health certificates.

It will be the first time for decades that EU firms will have to provide this documentation for goods they are sending to Great Britain - and it is unclear how prepared they are for the change. But the BCC is warning that even greater concern rests over a lack of clarity around physical checks of consignments, which will be due to start on April 30th.

With government figures indicating UK imports just under 30% of all the food it consumes from the EU, the BCC said the timing of these changes is not good.

William Bain, BCC Head of trade policy, said: "The government is finally implementing major changes to Great Britain's inbound border controls and customs checks stemming from Brexit, but there are still unanswered questions around its plans. Especially, as businesses are already facing a tough start to the year, with container shipping prices quadrupling as the Red Sea disruption continues.

He added: "The initial changes this week should not cause many noticeable hold ups for inbound goods, although EU firms will be facing new charges to get export health certificates and will need to find vets to sign them.

"The bigger issue is physical checks on a proportion of these imports, which are due to start in April. But the Government still hasn't said what will happen if goods coming into the UK don't have the paperwork they need.

"Will they be stopped from entering or will they be followed up afterwards? This could lead to hold ups with deliveries if it's not handled properly."

Additionally, Mr Bain warned that concern continues over the common usage charge that will be made for consignments. The Government has estimated the new border system will cost UK businesses £330m a year, he said, but it remains unknown how much EU exporters will be charged to send goods.

He warned: "There is a real fear that these extra costs will end up being passed on to the UK importer and their customers, putting upward pressure on inflation. Many smaller businesses in the EU may also look at the new paperwork and costs and decide selling products to Britain is just not worth it.

"There's clearly a communication challenge, and we think the UK Government and the EU need to do more. Until businesses on both sides of the Channel have all the information it's very difficult for them to plan ahead. With interest rates still high, inflation double its 2% target and supply chain disruption continuing to build, this uncertainty is the last thing firms need."

Meanwhile, the Guardian newspaper is warning that a lack of vets in Europe could force EU-based meat suppliers to hesitate on deliveries for the UK in the face of the regulation changes.

And looking to the April 30th changes, the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), points out that UK meat processing companies rely on imports for 26% of their supply - believes the change from the existing system (where no health checks are required on animal imports), is "red tape" which needs to be ironed out.

A spokesman told Punchline-Gloucester.com: "There have been reports in the media warning of UK Border Control Post (BCP) not being sufficiently prepared for these new checks, but it's what we're hearing from our European association counterparts that's more worrying.

"Every indication we have is that there is a lack of veterinary capacity amongst EU exporting countries, particularly at the end of the week and on weekends. We're also hearing that EU vets, who have to sign the Export Health Certificates (EHCs) needed to be able to export meat, may not be prepared to sign those EHC at all. This is because there are discrepancies between what's on our UK EHCs and the EU vets' ability to match it up with current EU legislation, which has begun to diverge from the pre-Brexit legislation that was copied and pasted back in 2021."

He added: "Put bluntly, if the vets aren't able to sign off the documentation, consignments of meat may not even leave the factory, let alone get to a UK Border Control Post. Even if vets can sign off, many smaller EU suppliers will simply stop exporting to the UK due to the extra bureaucracy and the loss of the ability to send small consignments in grouped loads, just as small UK exporters did in 2021."