UK supermarkets seek urgent action on Northern Ireland supplies
* Three-month grace period ends March 31
* Supermarket chiefs say current proposals are unworkable
* CEOs says disruption inevitable if solution not found
* British PM Johnson says there are “teething problems”
Britain’s leading supermarket groups have warned the government that “urgent intervention” is needed to prevent significant disruption to Northern Ireland food supplies in the coming months.
Britain is no longer part of the European Union’s single market and customs union, but Northern Ireland has a foot in both camps as part of the UK’s customs territory while still aligned with the EU’s single market for goods.
Under the Northern Irish protocol, which covers post-Brexit trade between Britain and Northern Ireland, supermarkets selling into the territory have a three-month grace period to adapt their supply systems to the new trading reality.
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