Post-Brexit checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland could end under government plans to amend current legislation.
The changes, which are detailed in an 80-page government document, will see the Withdrawal Act also changed and EU law will no longer apply automatically in Northern Ireland, Sky News reported.
The document, titled Safeguarding The Union, sets out the changes to law and the impacts of this, as well as two annexes, one on the constitutional context and a second on further measures to strengthen Northern Ireland’s position in the UK.
This includes an East-West Council, a new trade body and one UK cabinet meeting in Northen Ireland each year.
A vote on the legislation’s details are expected to take place tomorrow.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
Post-Brexit checks has hit supermarkets hard.
Last year, M&S has flagged that the added complexity is hitting profitability at its Irish business, as chair Archie Norman said it would now only “break even” in the country due to the increased customs and border controls.
Norman revealed that the retailer’s international expansion plans do not include Europe as it is now too expensive and complex to export fresh food: “We cannot legally send some of our products into the EU,” he said.
Chief executive Stuart Machin told shareholders at its virtual AGM last year that Brexit was its biggest challenge after inflation. “It added considerable amount of complexity, cost and distraction and we are still trying to find the way through,” he said.
