UK to cancel wine import certificates after Brexit

The UK government said on Sunday it would eliminate some post-Brexit red tape on wine imports after warnings from the trade that it would cause lasting damage.

transfer to End of requirements for VI-1 import certificatesWhat ministers said would save British consumers around £ 130 million a year was welcomed by the industry.

The red ribbon has been a requirement of the European Union dating back to the 1970s, when it was introduced to protect European wine-producing regions, such as Chablis or Burgundy, from the New World tradition of poor quality.

The UK and EU wine trade was horrified when London announced that it would keep the VI-1 model after leaving the bloc and expand it to wines from EU countries such as France, Italy and Spain, albeit after a period of six month grace.

The European Union supplies roughly half of the $ 4.4 billion worth of wine that the UK imports each year.

Ministers had previously insisted that the post-Brexit surcharge would only add an average of 10 pence per bottle to the retail price of imported wine.

“The government has spent the last seven months digging a hole deeper and deeper for itself, pretending that the industry wants VI-1 to maintain quality,” said Daniel Lambert, a wine merchant who lobbied against certifications.

“I really don’t know why, because this is the first real identifiable dividend from Brexit… said Lambert, predicting that the EU would now also act to remove accreditation requirements.

He added that the London decision would benefit the small family vineyards that grow wine at source, rather than the large producers who import it to the UK in 40,000-liter containers and pack it here.

“For producers who specialize in interesting products, which cost between £ 12 and £ 50 a bottle, this is where they will make a big difference.”

VI-1 presents a particular problem for fine wine merchants, because certifications require laboratory sampling, requiring the opening of rare or expensive wine bottles that can no longer be resold.

James Miles, chairman and co-founder of Liv-ex Wine Exchange, said the decision “reestablished our trade agreements with the rest of the world in a way that will strengthen the UK’s leading position in the global wine trade.”

Miles Beale, executive director of the Wine and Spirits Trade Association, hailed the move as a “really impressive result.”

He added: “We have spent more than two years campaigning relentlessly to avoid the introduction of new import certificates for EU wine imports on the one hand and to abolish unnecessary and expensive VI-1 wine papers for imports of wine. It came from outside the EU on the other hand ”.

“Eliminating this unnecessary routine will put our business in a stronger position internationally as it continues to grow,” said Victoria Prentice, UK Minister for Food and Beverage.

EU wine imports to Northern Ireland have not been affected by VI-1 requirements given the region’s location in post-transition trade agreements with the EU. The government said other wine imports from outside the European Union would be considered as part of broader discussions on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

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