UK-EU deal could see NI suppliers import products 'without all the red tape'

The UK and EU's draft deal on food and plant products could allow suppliers in Northern Ireland to import products "without all the red tape".

If passed, the deal could benefit exporters based in Great Britain as it would reduce the extra costs and paperwork they face when selling goods to EU states and Northern Ireland.

It should also remove many of the post-Brexit goods checks between GB and Northern Ireland.

Robin Mercer, who runs the Hillmount chain of garden centre stores in counties Antrim and Down, said: "Honestly, all gardeners and plant suppliers are going to be so happy that, if we can get rid of all this red tape, it will be amazing.

"We can go back to the old days where you can bring in roses, you can bring in shrubs, you can bring in your sweet potatoes, without all the red tape and bring in the varieties you want."

Garden centres and plant importers in Northern Ireland have been particularly hard hit by post-Brexit restrictions in recent years.

However, the deal would not cut all Brexit red tape entirely because Northern Ireland would still be the only part of the UK that must follow EU customs rules.

Critics of the plan argue that in return for a relaxation on trade rules between GB and the EU, the UK government is agreeing to adhere to EU goods standards without any say in how those standards are set.

Those critics include some unionist leaders, who also object to the fact that Northern Ireland would continue to be treated differently to the rest of the UK.

The Irish Sea border was the term coined for checks and controls on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

It came about as the result of an initial Brexit deal between the EU and UK in 2019.

The deal was revised in 2023, and is now known as the Windsor Framework.

It was agreed that the most practical way to keep the border open between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit was for Northern Ireland to follow many EU laws on the regulation of goods.

However this means that goods coming from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland face paperwork and other restrictions to ensure they meet EU rules.

Food products and plants face the most bureaucracy and this continues to cause problems for retailers.

For many nationalists in Northern Ireland, this is a necessary compromise to minimise the impact of Brexit on the island of Ireland.

For many unionists it is a "constitutional affront" which undermines Northern Ireland's place in the UK.

The largest unionist party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), prevented Northern Ireland's power-sharing government from operating between 2022 and 2024 in protest at the Irish Sea border.

Agri-food deals from the EU fall into two broad categories: New Zealand-style or Swiss-style.

The EU's deal with New Zealand means that each party recognises the other has high food standards and so the frequency of checks on products and paperwork is reduced.

However, New Zealand still sets its own standards and a proportion of goods are still checked as they enter the EU.

By contrast there are no regulatory border controls for trade in agri-food products between Switzerland and the EU.

But the Swiss only have this deal because they agreed to follow EU rules almost to the letter, without much say in setting those rules.

Switzerland is obliged to modify its laws in response to changes in EU legislation - what is known as dynamic alignment - and accept oversight from the European Court of Justice.

It is a Swiss-style deal which the UK and EU are now on the verge of finalising.

Such a deal would mean the Irish Sea-border controls on GB food products entering Northern Ireland could be effectively ended.

Border control posts built at Northern Ireland ports would become largely redundant, although pre-Brexit checks on livestock would continue.

The 'Not for EU' labels seen on GB food products sold in Northern Ireland would no longer be needed.

The Irish Sea is really two borders.

One deals with products' standards - making sure goods can be legally sold.

The other deals with customs - making sure the correct tariffs have been paid.

An agri-food deal would go a long way to removing the standards border, but it would leave the customs border untouched.

Businesses in GB would still have to make customs declarations for goods going to Northern Ireland with the risk that goods would be delayed if the paperwork is incorrect.

The President of the Ulster Farmers' Union, John McClenaghan, gave a cautious welcome to proposed UK-EU agreement.

"Initially, we would be very welcoming of what we see in draft form at the minute," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"Now we do need to see more of the detail but certainly for some time now we've been calling out this higher level of bureaucracy and red tape which has been adding cost to our industry and that frictionless trade, particularly between east-west (GB to NI) trade.

"So very, very keen to see more of the detail but broadly speaking it sounds very positive."

Agriculture Minister Andrew Muir, of Alliance, welcomed the draft agreement as positive first step in reversing some of the "damage" Brexit did to the UK economy.

"I'm confident this will be good for consumers, good for businesses and good for our farmers.

"It's won't resolve everything. I've always been clear that cleaning up the mess caused by Brexit is a big job and I'll continue to constructively represent Northern Ireland, ensuring further and deeper collaboration with the European Union."

Stormont's Economy Minister, Caoimhe Archibald from Sinn Féin, pointed out that Northern Ireland already had its own arrangements in place "which mitigate the impact of Brexit".

She said the current rules "give the North a unique competitive advantage, being able to sell into both the British and EU markets".

But Archibald added that her party welcomed "anything that is going to minimise the friction for trade, for businesses."

DUP leader Gavin Robinson accused the UK government of negotiating a deal that would disregard the result of the Brexit referendum in order to "follow suit with the European Union".

"My question to them is this - if they are willing to ignore 2016, ignore the referendum and agree alignment in so many areas of life – why do they continue to keep Northern Ireland separate from the rest of the United Kingdom?" he asked.

"It's a constitutional affront to keep us separate from the rest of our country when they are accepting alignment in so many facets of trade and life."

Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister said the UK should have "taken back sovereignty" over food and plant trade in Northern Ireland but "chose not to".

"They've chosen to leave us under the sovereignty of the EU and instead to align the rest of the United Kingdom with EU rules – as a rule taker – for which then the United Kingdom will have to pay a significant contribution."

Allister added: "It does not take us out of the Customs Union and it is the Customs Union which decrees GB to be a 'foreign country', which then requires customs declarations and paperwork, etc. None of that will go."