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| - The British government announced Thursday it will continue light-touch post-Brexit checks on goods from the European Union for an extra six months, to help businesses recover from the pandemic. The country had planned a staged approach to border enforcement of freight over the first six months of 2021, after leaving the EU's single market and customs union at the start of the year. But the government said it had "listened to businesses" facing unprecedented challenges during the coronavirus crisis, and would now not introduce the full border control processes until 2022. "We will now introduce border controls broadly six months later than planned to give traders time to focus on getting back on their feet as the economy opens up after a difficult year," Brexit minister David Frost said. "We are confident that this new timetable will allow import businesses to re-establish their trading arrangements after a difficult period due to coronavirus, in the most straightforward and lightest touch way possible." The move extends the government's so-called "deferred declaration scheme", which lets UK importers of standard goods from the EU delay submitting newly-needed customs paperwork. Under the adjusted timetable, new pre-notification requirements will come into force in some areas, such as for animal origin products, from October. Meanwhile safety and security declarations and various other controls will now begin to be needed from January, 2022. In the final stage, checks on live animals, low-risk plants and plant products will start from March next year. The EU opted against a phased rollout of post-Brexit border rules and has been enforcing its new regulations on British exports to the bloc since January. Britain has experienced a rocky start to life outside its trading regimes, with some UK exporters complaining of huge hurdles to previously seamless continental trade, with volumes down significantly in January. The government has insisted the dip was expected and due to several factors including stockpiling late last year, and that overall freight levels have since returned to normal. However in Northern Ireland, special arrangements agreed as part of Britain's Brexit divorce deal are continuing to cause political and practical problems. Brussels is threatening legal action after London announced unilateral changes to the so-called Northern Irish protocol, including an extension to a grace period on checks on food going to the UK province. jj/jwp/rl
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