|
In the current context of uncertainty on the progress of negotiations for a Withdrawal Agreement, Starch Europe and BSIA, the British Starch Industry Association, join voices to call for the continuation of trade between both areas, due to the high integration of both markets resulting from 45 years of common rules.
The UK starch industry is fully integrated into the EU market
The UK starch industryis fully integrated in the EU supply chain, processing raw materials either locally available (e.g. wheat) or imported from the EU (starch potatoes and wheat).
UK starch products are partly re-exported to the EU market where they are further used as ingredients in industrial and food preparations. The 4 UK starch processing plants exported 48 000 tonnes of starch products to the EU market in 2017 (1).
The UK is the main export market of EU starch producers.
EU-based starch plantsprocess starch extracted from wheat, maize and starch potatoes. In 2017, the EU-27 exported 892 000 tonnes of starch products to the UK (2), representing more than 53% of the total UK starch market (3).
EU-UK trade post Brexit: a transition towards an ambitious EU-UK FTA
Starch Europe and BSIA stress how crucial the least disruptive impact of Brexit on EU-UK trade flows is for its industry and calls for a transition phase post-Brexit until the conclusion of an ambitious free trade agreement between both sides.
This is the prerequisite for businesses to continue operating efficiently and to benefit from certainty and predictability for operations in the EU and in the UK.
The EU and British starch industries believe that a transition period as from 29 March 2019 is crucial to secure predictability for UK and EU businesses. Duty-free quota-free trade will provide proper conditions for businesses to prepare, until the implementation of the EU-UK trade deal.
Both associations support the swift conclusion of an ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the UK and EU post-Brexit
Joint effort to avoid Non-Trade Barriers to preserve the EU and UK supply chain
BSIA and Starch Europe both support:
- Strict and consistent rules of origin,
- Simplified administrative procedure for food exports, and
- Mutual recognition of standards between EU and UK bodies.
|
