The purpose of the label is to allow Northern Ireland products to move freely within the UK. Photo: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Europe.
Milk, butter, meat, fish and vegetables will carry non-EU labels across the UK, not just in Northern Ireland, in line with Brexit plans being discussed by the government and supermarkets.
Retailers have demanded more details from officials about the new labeling rules, which are part of Rishi Sunak's Windsor Framework Agreement with the EU and will come into effect in October.
Sir Ian Duncan Smith demanded that the prime minister drop «ridiculous » rules that will apply in the UK from October 2024, despite the fact that the British mainland is an island that does not have a land border with the EU.
“They should be cancelled. This. It will be seen as ridiculous,” the former Tory leader said in comments that could further hurt Mr Sunak after the Conservatives fired him. beating in local elections.
"That's not why we left the EU. We should have left the EU for deregulation, not over-regulation.»
«There is no good reason why food produced and sold in any part of the UK should be labeled 'non-EU', much less if it is sold in the UK mainland,» said former cabinet minister David Jones.< /p>
Nigel Dodds, a DUP colleague, said that the appearance of these labels in Liverpool, Harrogate and Leeds, and Northern Ireland is «absurd.»
«This is a huge additional cost and inconvenience . on all British manufacturers. These labels should be on every single prepackaged food,” he said.
Impact on UK business
He warned that this would also affect British businesses exporting food to the EU and condemn them to additional costs.
“This is a proportionate and necessary means of ensuring that goods moving along the green lane are sold only to consumers. in Northern Ireland,” a spokesman for Defra said, adding that the government would support businesses as the changes progressed.
Labeling requirements can be met in a variety of ways, including on the label itself or on a sticker, and officials say this is vital to ensure the same products are on shelves across the UK without changing supply chains in the North. Ireland. .
An official from the European Union also defended the new rules and said that Brussels «worked hard to find joint solutions with the UK to make it easier to move goods from the UK to NI»
» . This is important to protect the single market. The requirements will be introduced in stages and transparently,” the official said.
Northern Ireland has continued to follow hundreds of post-Brexit EU rules to prevent Ireland's hard border with Ireland, an EU member, in a treaty that grants lucrative dual access to both UK and European markets.
Border controls have been relocated to the Irish Sea, and now they have been reduced due to Mr. Sunak's new Brexit deal, which was agreed in February.
From October, British food shipped to Northern Ireland supermarkets can be placed on the green lane. This saves products from EU checks at the Irish Sea border, provided they carry the “non-EU” label.
The label reassures Brussels that food that does not pass European regulations are less likely to travel from Northern Ireland to Ireland, a member of the EU.
But in concession to Brussels, Mr. Sunak agreed. the 'non-EU' label will eventually be applied to many of the main products on UK shelves.
UK officials also believe that UK-wide labeling will save manufacturers the need to make costly separate labels for UK and much smaller N.I. the market is about 2 million people.
Labels for meat, milk and dairy products are pencil-drawn to be distributed across the UK from next October if the Welsh and Scottish governments agree, and from July 2025 they will be placed on fruits, vegetables and fish sold in UK.
Deadline is too tough
Retailers fear that the Northern Ireland label deadline this October will be too tough, especially as there is still no word on which products will be covered. this is a requirement.
“If we don’t see guidance soon, and it’s feasible, supply chains will be in trouble in October,” said Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium. “Everyone wants this to work, so perhaps the UK should discuss compliance with the EU now rather than wait until closer to October.”
The government has agreed to subsidize the cost of introducing a new one to reduce friction over the Irish maritime borders.
Peter Summerton, managing director of carriers McCulla Ireland, predicted that the government would have to subsidize businesses in the amount of «tens of millions of pounds». «.
Even then, it wouldn't stop supply chains for Northern Ireland from shifting from British to European firms, especially in the Republic, he told The Telegraph.
But Sarah Hardes of AM Logistics, also in Northern Ireland, said the new Brexit deal was «significantly better» than the alternatives on offer.
She insisted that if the new arrangements were put in place, British supply chains to Northern Ireland would be stronger and cheaper than European counterparts.
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