Victoria Jones/PA
Jacob Rees-Mogg has cautioned that post-Brexit border charges could be inflationary in a social media post that has to be seen to be believed.
Food suppliers have warned of higher prices and empty supermarket shelves thanks to a new post-Brexit border charge being introduced at the end of the month.
Importers will have to pay up to £145 to bring small amounts of products such as cheese, salami and fish through the port of Dover or the Eurotunnel from April 30, according to guidance published on Wednesday.
The fee is intended to cover the cost of operating the border control posts introduced after Brexit, and will not apply to goods brought into the UK for personal use.
But importers warned the new charges could lead to higher prices for consumers.
According to estimates from Allianz Trade, consumers will be forced to spend an extra £2 billion on French cheese, Italian olive oil and other food from the Continent when the new border checks come into force at the end of this month.
The controls will impose costs equivalent to a 10 per cent tariff on the £21 billion-worth of products affected, said the research from Ana Boata, head of economic research at the financial services company.
Goods affected include cereals, meat, dairy products and oils, as well as trees, plants, flowers and bulbs, which amount to around 8 per cent of all UK imports from the European Union.
The Allianz report said: “The cost of goods imported from the EU is likely to rise as exporters in the EU will pass on (at least part of) these additional costs to their UK customers.”
Warnings from arch Brexiteer Rees-Mogg that the added costs could be inflationary were gloriously slapped down with a community note on X that read:
“The checks are not unnecessary. They are a legal requirement of the European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act, which was approved by UK parliament and voted for by Jacob Rees-Mogg himself.”
Check it out below:
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