Plans to force UK firms to put their goods through expensive new tests before they can go on sale have been shelved, in another Brexit U-turn.
The new “UKCA” quality mark was due to replace the EU’s “CE” badge from 1 January – as a symbol of having the left the bloc – but ministers now accept it would be a “burden for business”.
Businesses had protested that the tests would be pointless and costly red tape, where goods have already been approved by the EU as having the quality required.
The introduction of the UKCA has been delayed for two years, until 2025, but the move will raise doubts that the switch will ever be made, given the two-year recession the UK is forecast to suffer.
The government has repeatedly delayed border checks on goods imported from the EU because of the feared additional £1bn cost to cross-Channel trade, despite fears of the spread of diseases.
The Independent revealed, in February, a Cabinet split over the introduction of the UKCA mark, when No 10 slapped down then business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg’s call for it to be abandoned.
Announcing the two-year delay, the current business secretary, Grant Shapps, said: “This move will give businesses the breathing space and flexibility they need at this crucial time.”
Earlier this year, the British Chambers of Commerce urged the government to recognise that the UKCA scheme – an important symbol for many Brexit-backers – was neither necessary, nor practical.
“We need a clear cross-government message that it is willing to listen well and act pragmatically in the interests of UK businesses,” said William Bain, head of trade policy.
At the time, Mr Rees-Mogg was under pressure to find “red tape” that could be stripped out, as the “minister for Brexit opportunities”, and pushed for a rethink.
But a Downing Street spokesperson insisted “products with the CE mark will require a UKCA mark from 1 January next year”.
Now Mr Shapps, announcing the U-turn, has insisted he is instead “giving thousands of businesses the freedom to focus on growth”.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy pointed to the difficult economic conditions created by post-pandemic shifts in demand and supply, alongside Putin’s war in Ukraine and the associated high energy prices”.
“The government does not want to burden business with the requirement to meet the original [31 December 2022] deadline,” the department said.
