On 19 May 2025, the UK government and the European Union (EU) agreed to pursue a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. This, together with the Windsor Framework, will make it easier, cheaper and more predictable for goods to move not just between the UK and the EU, but also within the UK itself, including smoother movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
This agreement covers the trade, production and movement of plants, animals and their products; food and feed safety; plus key agri-food marketing standards and compositional standards; as well as regulation of pesticides and biocides.
Critically for our sector, this agreement will include UK plant health requirements for wood and wood products effectively realigning our requirements with those of the EU.
TDUK is fully aware that movement of wood products from GB to EU countries particularly Ireland has become unnecessarily complicated since 2020 due to trade barriers created by unaligned plant health requirements. For this reason we have been actively participating and encouraging the UK Government to get this new SPS agreement with the EU in place as soon as possible. Realistically, because of the complexity in the food sector, the final agreement is unlikely to take effect before mid-2027.
Members may be aware of the recent articles in the news media regarding this new SPS agreement and the fact the UK Government has launched a “call for information” asking for companies to share details of how their business are being impacted. Members are welcome to participate in this call for information, although we believe it is unlikely to help the new agreement get put in place any sooner.
Members are reminded that until the new SPS agreement is in place they must continue to follow current plant health requirements when importing wood into the UK. To help you do so, TDUK has published its latest Trade Note specifically setting out requirements when importing Coniferous wood.
