Businesses still struggling with sea border, Stormont reports find

The operation of Northern Ireland's Brexit deal is still characterised by confusion, duplication and accumulating regulatory burdens on businesses, two reports have found.

The studies were commissioned by Stormont's Department for the Economy, and look at the practical impacts of the Windsor Framework, the deal agreed by the UK and EU in 2023.

The framework was intended to reduce the impact of the Irish Sea border.

A government spokesperson said the framework "protects the Good Friday Agreement".

After Brexit Northern Ireland stayed inside the EU's single market for goods as a way to prevent a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

That created a new trade border for goods coming into NI from other parts of the UK, with customs declarations and other paperwork required.

The report from the economist Maureen O'Reilly concludes that the framework has brought greater stability but that "has not yet translated into simplicity. "

She said: "Businesses describe a trading environment that is more predictable than before but still marked by cumulative regulatory and compliance demands.

"Supply-chain pressures remain among the most significant constraints.

"GB suppliers continue to raise minimum orders, add administrative surcharges or withdraw from supplying Northern Ireland entirely."

She said that has prompted many firms to shift sourcing to Ireland or the wider EU but "often at greater cost".

The second report, from the trade consultancy Fortior Insight, also highlights the continuing difficulties with GB suppliers.

It found that "in many cases" suppliers have withdrawn from the NI market before they have fully understood the trade simplifications which are available.

That report also suggests there is still confusion and misunderstanding about the concept of "at risk", which is central to the framework.

It describes a product moved from GB into NI that could be subsequently moved across the border to be sold in the Republic.

If a product is "at risk" it could be liable for EU tariffs, but it does not mean it is substandard.

Foritor said "public messaging" had failed to make it clear that the "at risk" classification was simply about tariffs and "does not denote compliance failure."

"Stakeholder evidence suggests that messaging… has unintentionally created the perception that "at risk" is undesirable," it added.

"In practice, many legitimate commercial models rely on "at risk" declarations as part of how supply chains are structured, including where goods are intended to support onward movement consistent with EU market requirements."

Both reports also look at whether NI businesses are benefiting from "dual market access."

That refers to NI having unique access to both the UK market and the EU single market.

After he signed the Windsor Framework the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it made NI "the world's most exciting economic zone."

Maureen O'Reilly found that some firms are beginning to exploit the advantages of that frictionless access.

However, she said "the overwhelming feedback is that the benefits are heavily constrained by administrative realities.

"Many businesses reliant on supply chains originating in Great Britain find the administrative hurdles dampen the practical value of dual access."

A government spokesperson also said that the framework maintains Northern Ireland's "unique" dual access to the UK and EU markets and "ensures there is no hard border with the Republic of Ireland".

The spokesperson also said that £16.6m is to go into a new service to provide "simpler, tailored support" to businesses moving goods to Northern Ireland.

They added that there are plans to sign an agri-food and drink deal with the EU at the UK-EU Summit later this month which will "slash the costly red tape that has hindered GB-NI trade and pushed up food prices".