Background for Dairy Exporters
On January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom (UK) completed its departure from the European Union (EU). The UK’s full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (NI) where Great Britain (GB) includes the devolved nations of England, Wales and Scotland and their islands. For the purposes of international trade, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are in the same Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) zone as GB; however, NI remains in the same SPS zone as the EU. To minimize trade disruptions, the UK authorities provided a transitional period to allow exporters delivering dairy and dairy composite products to continue to use existing EU export certificates to access the UK market. However, beginning on September 30, 2021, new GB dairy export certificates will be implemented for U.S. dairy and dairy composite product exports destined for GB.
What does this mean for U.S. dairy exporters?
Dairy exports destined for Northern Ireland (NI) will continue to utilize EU dairy certificates. Dairy exports destined to Great Britain (GB) (including England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) will need to utilize the new GB dairy certificates, which are available in the new AMS Agriculture Trade Licensing & Attestation Solution (ATLAS) web-based software. Please note that if a dairy consignment is imported to GB with onward movement of the dairy products to NI or any other country, a new GB issued export certificate will be required.
Dairy exporters who ship consignments to GB should access ATLAS in advance to minimize delays in obtaining GB certificates after September 30, 2021. For questions, please reach out to: dairyexportsquestions@usda.gov