UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement

​​​​​​About the SPS agreement

On 19 May 2025, The UK and EU are working toward a Sanitary​ and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement. This agreement covers food safety and animal and plant health rules.

The UK expects the agreement to start in mid-2027.

SPS rules cover health and safety standards for:

• food products
• animals
• plants

The goal is to make trade safer and smoother.

Prepare for the UK–EU agri-food agreement

If you run an agri-food business, you should start preparing now. 

This includes businesses in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

You should:

• review your current import and export processes
• check what rules may change
• plan for updates to systems and paperwork

Find guidance on SPS agreement: preparing your business on GOV.UK​

What this means for your business

We are working with:

• the UK Government
• the Government of Guernsey
• the Isle of Man Government

This is to make sure the Crown Dependencies benefit from the agreement.

The agreement may:

• reduce checks and paperwork when trading with the EU
• make it easier to import and export food and agricultural products

Travel with pets

The agreement may also support the return of the Pet Passport Scheme. This could make it easier to travel with pets between the UK, Crown Dependencies and the EU.​