The EU Commission has agreed to a flexible extension until the 31st January 2020.

A deal can be agreed at any point during this extension period. If a deal hasn’t been reached by 31^st of January, there may be a no-deal on 1^st February 2020.

Currently nothing changes for your business

However we recommend considering the implications of a no deal scenario and familiarise yourself with the information below.

We will keep you informed of any changes taking place that might affect your business.

In the instance of a no-deal the following still apply:

• Our guidance relates specifically to organic

• There will be implications on importing and exporting organic products within the EU. This applies to seeds, plants, livestock, crops and feed. Textiles and cosmetic products are not affected
  
  
• If you export to the EU (and some third countries) there may be issues accepting your products or livestock
  
  
• New documentation will be required for exporting
  
  
• New labelling will be required for exporting
  
  
• If you import organic products from outside the EU into the UK you'll need to be aware of new requirements for those exporters

We've compiled a simple checklist to help you prepare for a no-deal Brexit after 31st January 2020:

✅  Before exporting to the EU, ensure that Soil Association Certification has EC approval, that your labelling complies with new requirements and register with the TRACES NT portal as an exporter (not possible until after 31st January 2020)

✅ Please note that your certification documents may also change

✅ Before you export to any non-EU country, ensure that they will accept UK product after the 31^st and that your labelling complies with any organic national requirement

✅ If you are importing from a non-EU country, ensure that your exporter is aware of the requirement for new UK organic documentation. Read more about importing.

The Government have issued guidance to help all farmers and growers prepare for Brexit. This includes information on a range of issues including farm and rural payments, importing and exporting and seasonal workers. For a comprehensive list of changes please visit the Government’s website.

Tariffs

In the event of a no deal there will be changes to the tariffs on products being imported into the UK and products being exported from the UK. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has provided useful calculation on the different rates for each product categories that you can view here

Exports of live animals and animal products

In the event of a no-deal exports of live animals and products of animal origin, such as meat, fish and dairy, can continue as the UK listed status has been confirmed by the EU member states. Organic businesses will still need to wait until the EU grants formal approval of their organic certification body. However, once approval had been given, exporting animals and animal products will be much easier.  For more information click here.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have also published a helpful no-deal advice pack.

In the event of no-deal Brexit, organic food, feed and drink from the UK will no longer be accepted by the EU.

Soil Association Certification will need to be individually approved by the European Commission before their licensees are able to export to the EU.

There will be a number of actions you'll need to take, and minor updates needed on your documentation. 

Once we leave the EU, imports of organic food, drink and primary agricultural products from the EU, EEA and Switzerland will be allowed until 31^st December 2020 and will not require checks.

No additional paperwork or Certificates of Inspection will need to be completed until 2021.

Certificates of Inspection will continue to be required for product entering the UK from all other countries – this will no longer use the EC TRACES system and will be paper based.

What’s staying the same?

Nothing will change to the Soil Association organic standards post-Brexit and we will continue to maintain our existing high standards. 

All UK certifiers will continue to certify UK organic businesses for UK trade.

What’s changing?

New UK organic food & farming statutory instruments have now been passed into law, ready to become regulation after Brexit. In anticipation of continued access to EU market these will remain closely aligned with existing EU organic regulations.

Unless your certifier has approval from the European Commission (EC), or we reach an “equivalency arrangement” before we exit after Brexit the EU organic logo should no longer be used in the UK.  

Certification codes for labelling may change. (e.g Soil Association Certification’s current code “GB – ORG – 05”) may change.

Once Soil Association Certification has EC approval the certifier code onproducts and references to where the product was produced (EU or non-EU) may also need to change. 

As the organic experts in the UK we provide a wealth of free information and guidance to our organic licensees.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for on these pages, please get in touch with your Certification Officer or email: brexitsupport@soilassociation.org