The news of the UK-EU reset has caused a flurry of headlines in the last 25 hours - but what does it mean for wine?
Speaking today, Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association welcomed the reset, noted that anything that improves the relationships and practical arrangements with the EU is "great news". However he warned that "as ever the devil is in the detail" and he looked forward to seeing the legal texts over the coming weeks.
"For the UK wine sector, where imports account for 99% the wine enjoyed by UK consumers, we want to ensure that any new rules and obligations work for the UK market," he said.
Speaking at the London Wine Fair yesterday - before the full announcement - he pointed out that the reset however was not going to be either "a panacea" or a return to the customs union or single market.
"Since 2016 everything has been getting worse, sometimes faster, sometimes slower but I think today will be the first example of something where things are improving," he said.
Director of policy Simon Stannard, also speaking at a briefing at the LWF yesterday, added that any progress in improving the log-jam of goods such as those agreed in the 'reset' - live animals and fresh foods with a shorter shelf-life - in and out of the UK would make it easier for wine.
"Hopefully there will be an easier movement of goods between EU and the UK."
He noted that there had been some "disappointing developments" over the last few years – for example the plans to modernise the customs system had been put on hold, but he remained hopeful that with the new SP agreement in place to make the checks and balances easier and goods moving quicker there may be some movement in this too. , although until there was an opportunity to go through detail, it would be difficult to tell.
Moreover, the "mood music comig out of the Treasury" was for simple procedures, more electronic procedures, and more electronic documentation, hinting that this may be on the agenda in future.
"There will be some movement on that," he said, "but we’ve had practise on retaining ... and the cost of change!
Regulatory & commercial affairs director David Richardson added that that the evolution of processes at the border had been fragmented and wine had been "stuck" behind exports such as live animals, frozen food, and live plants, but with this likely to have been made much easier given the fewer checks that will be required for these categories going forward."
"It means the traffic jam in front of your wine might become quicker," he said.
However, he warned that it may take weeks for the nitty gritty details to come to light and the changes would take time.
"I think, be some movement in the right direction as ever. There's a bit of a cost of change and retraining teams to deal with that, but then we've had a lot of practice in the last eight to 10 years or so. So when I say business as usual in about 2028, it's interesting that nobody from HMRC disagrees with me."
