International trade - Trade between European Union (EU) Member States
Trade between Member States in the EU is controlled by EU law that harmonises conditions to allow free trade. Most products or animals consigned to the UK from other Member States must comply with EU animal or public health rules and be accompanied by an official health certificate or commercial document. The certificate or document contains information on the origin and destination of the products and may include public or animal health attestations.Single market rules do not require routine animal or public health checks at ports of entry from other EU Member States, but random and non-discriminatory spot checks in transit and post-import are permitted.
EU trade in live animals and some products are tracked by the EU wide TRACES computer system.
The State Veterinary Service enforce the controls on live animals and carry out random checks on animals on arrival in England. Local Authorities enforce the controls on imports of products of animal origin (POAO).
Page last modified:
May 24, 2006