Rishi Sunak has abandoned plans to use post-Brexit freedoms to enforce production safety standards in the UK. Photo: DANIEL LEAL/AFP
The whole thing turned out to be a storm in a beer glass.
The restoration of the crown on the traditional beer glass was announced with some fanfare and even coincided with the late Queen's anniversary last year.< /p>
“This is a fitting tribute as we are now helping businesses restore the Crown symbol on pints,” Business Secretary Paul Scully said in 2022, with the government calling the proposal “crowning glory.”
Plan to phase out the badge CE, the European symbol for product safety, and being replaced by its own version called UKCA, was first introduced in 2021 as a way to demonstrate the impact of Brexit on FMCG.
But two years. it was later decided that the CE marking could remain.
The day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak came under fire for drinking pints in Scotland to promote his changes to alcohol duties, his government announced that instead of being completely excluded as planned, the UK would continue to recognize European standards. .
However, it has reserved the right to impose its own rules for goods produced and sold at home.
Pint glasses will be able to display the CE mark, or the UKCA symbol, or both , and other.
Plans to phase out the EU-recognised CE symbol and return to a crown stamp have been cancelled. Credit: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo
The crown stamp would be completely optional — a decorative nod to its historical use as a guarantee of glass size, not any form of legal requirement.
In essence, it opens the door to dual systems in the UK, as firms can choose between domestic and European standards.
Business groups have welcomed the decision.
Without it, UK companies selling goods in the EU, and their counterparts doing the same in the opposite direction, will face the additional cost of obtaining a certificate twice.
If the rules were significantly different, this could also lead to the risk that they would be forced develop and produce different products for each market.
MakeUK, a trade body representing manufacturers, found that three-quarters of members wanted the government to keep CE standards for the UK market.
This came after some EU suppliers simply stopped selling to businesses in the UK due to at additional cost and hassle.
The group welcomed the decision to continue using the CE marking for the 18 types of products listed by the Department of Business and Trade, from toys to radio equipment and gas appliances.
However, it was noted that other industries, such as construction and medical devices, are regulated by other authorities that have not yet announced a similar move on standards.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the «pragmatic approach adopted by the government.
“With inflation still high and interest rates continuing to rise, this announcement will bring a welcome respite. Removing the CE mark would be a significant cost, even just for the UK domestic market,” he said, noting that the majority of businesses surveyed wanted to keep the CE system.
“They saw significant benefits in keeping the most recognized testing system and labeling of industrial and electrical goods for business. Having to use two labeling systems, one for the UK and one for the EU, would also lead to limited choice for customers if firms choose not to use both.”
Reaction among Brexit supporters has been mixed.
Craig McKinley, Conservative MP for South Thanet and member of the European Supervisory Committee, says the decision ultimately makes sense as the CE standard has taken hold globally rather than only in the EU. which makes life easier for British companies.
“On the face of it, it’s kind of disappointing that we’re going to perpetuate the CE marking, which means our manufacturers have to make products to a European standard, not to our own possibly superior British standards,” he says.
«But I don't jump around because for better or worse, the CE mark has gained international status.»
Conservative MP Craig McKinley said the UK should explore other areas of regulation where it could take a leadership role. Photo: Belinda Jiao
He suggests that UK regulation may cover new areas such as the study of software in technology.
According to him, the new rules may go beyond just security considerations, and instead carefully check the use of data and whether information is transmitted back to manufacturers and software suppliers, for example, in China.
Shanker Singham, International Trade and Competition Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs and a former government adviser, welcomed the move, saying it would effectively bring rigor to British standards.
“If the new UKCA rules allow companies to produce goods at a lower price or higher quality than CE-compliant goods, businesses will use the UKCA. But if the rules are bad, businesses will stick to the EU option.
“It allows you to compete in the regulatory sphere. This allows the British vacuum cleaner manufacturer to say, “I prefer the UK regulatory requirements and the UK brand because it's cheaper,” he says.
“It's not uncommon. Australia does it in beef. They have an internal European closed beef production system [system] and another production with beef hormones for those markets where beef hormones are allowed. So it's quite normal in trading.»
He also called for greater mutual recognition of the standards of other wealthy countries.
So far, the UK has been leading the way in unilateral recognition, taking, for example, drug decisions made by US and EU regulators. He hopes that, over time, other countries will accept UK-approved products.
However, there are fears that the government will never have time to pass any laws relating to the UK and will end up simply adhering to EU standards. .
Even if they become stricter over time.
John Longworth, Chairman of Independent Businesses' Network, and a former MEP for the Brexit party, says «it depends on the British standards being developed.»
«It will only happen if it's pushed and there's no guarantee it will happen,» he said, warning that «inertia» could mean the introduction of several new standards.
«If we were to phase out the CE mark, it would be a burning platform to force it.»
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