No outgoing prime minister should bind the UK to SPS by the back door
The resignation of Sir Keir Starmer raises an immediate and serious question for every sector that could be caught by a UK-EU SPS Agreement.
Can an outgoing Prime Minister sign the SPS agreement as a final act before leaving Downing Street?
- Legally, possibly. Politically, explosively. Practically, not neatly.
That distinction matters. The issue is not whether government can continue to function during a leadership transition. Of course it can. The issue is whether a Prime Minister who has announced his resignation should push through, sign, approve, or politically lock in a major international agreement that could bind future UK regulation to EU rules.
For the CTA the answer is clear. No outgoing Prime Minister should use a resignation window to make long-term regulatory commitments without proper parliamentary scrutiny, industry consultation, and explicit protection for affected sectors.
The SPS agreement is not a minor trade tidy-up
The proposed SPS agreement is often presented as a practical fix for smoother trade in food, plants, animals, feed and agricultural goods between the UK and EU. That is only part of the story.
Government documents and FSA board papers have already made clear that the proposed agreement is expected to involve dynamic alignment with relevant EU SPS rules. In plain English, that means the UK may be expected to keep pace with EU rules in areas within scope, subject to limited exceptions and UK constitutional procedures.
That is not a small administrative adjustment. It is a major regulatory commitment.
For some exporters, reduced paperwork and fewer border checks may sound attractive. For sectors like CBD, industrial hemp and medical cannabis, the question is far more serious. What happens if UK cannabinoid regulation is pulled into an EU framework that is already moving in a damaging direction?
CBD, hemp and medical cannabis cannot be left floating
The UK CBD sector has already endured years of delay through the Novel Food process. Businesses have invested, complied, waited and waited again. Full spectrum CBD remains unresolved. The industry still does not have the regulatory certainty it was promised.
Industrial hemp continues to sit in a policy mess despite its potential for farming, manufacturing, carbon reduction, construction materials and rural economic growth. Medical cannabis remains caught between healthcare policy, medicines regulation, prescribing barriers and patient access failures.
These are not sectors that can be casually swept into an SPS agreement because it suits a wider political reset with Brussels.
CTA’s position is simple. CBD, industrial hemp and medical cannabis must either be expressly carved out of the SPS agreement or separately protected before any signing, political commitment or implementation timetable is confirmed.
Signing is not the same as scrutiny
There is a difference between signing a treaty, ratifying it and implementing it in domestic law. A government may have legal powers to negotiate and sign international agreements, but that does not mean such an agreement should be pushed forward during a leadership collapse.
If the SPS agreement is to reshape UK regulatory independence in food safety, consumer protection, plants, animals, agriculture and related sectors, it must not be treated as unfinished paperwork for an outgoing administration.
It must come before Parliament properly. It must be explained clearly to affected industries. It must not be hidden behind language about smoother trade while the consequences for smaller and specialist sectors are left vague.
CTA calls for immediate clarity
CTA is calling for urgent confirmation from government on four points.
- First, whether any SPS agreement, draft text, political declaration or agreement in principle will be signed or announced during the Prime Minister’s resignation period at the UKEU Summit, July 22nd, where the Agreement was due to be signed
- Second, whether CBD, industrial hemp and medical cannabis are considered within scope, potentially within scope, or outside the intended scope of the agreement.
- Third, whether any commitment to dynamic alignment could affect the UK’s current or future approach to CBD Novel Foods, full spectrum CBD, hemp cultivation, cannabinoid ingredients or cannabis-based medicinal products.
- Fourth, whether Parliament and affected industries will be given proper scrutiny before the UK accepts any binding or politically irreversible position.
Marika Graham-Woods, Managing Director of the Cannabis Trades Association, said:
“An outgoing Prime Minister has no mandate to sign away regulatory control over sectors that are still fighting for clarity in the UK. CBD, hemp and medical cannabis cannot be collateral damage in a political reset with Brussels. If government believes these sectors are safe, it should say so clearly and in writing before any SPS commitment is made.”
This is not about opposing trade improvements. It is about refusing to allow complex, high-value, legally sensitive industries to be caught by accident, silence or political convenience.
The UK has one chance to get this right. It must not be done as a resignation-window manoeuvre. The CTA will continue to press for clear answers, proper scrutiny and explicit protection for CBD, industrial hemp and medical cannabis before any SPS agreement moves forward.
