Logistics UK welcomes EU proposal to cut Irish border checks on goods

Hauliers undertaking work for customers on both sides of the Irish Sea should see administration and bureaucracy reduced after the EU proposed cutting post-Brexit checks on goods, according to Logistics UK.

The business group cautiously welcomed the plan to address the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is an attempt to resolve the dispute over a key part of the Brexit agreement.

Current arrangements have created new economic barriers on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

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The new proposals include allowing most food products to enter Northern Ireland without physical checks; expanded trusted trader arrangements; customs tariff exemptions and no disruption to moving medicines across the Irish Sea.

Seamus Leheny, Logistics UK Northern Ireland policy manager, said the solutions being proposed were a positive step forwards: “The proposed solutions concerning the level of required data and checks associated with SPS and customs procedures are welcome and could reduce administration, costs and time associated with moving goods, especially food products, parcels, medicines and mixed load consignments from Great Britain to Northern Ireland,” he said.

“However, as always, the devil is in the detail, and Logistics UK is awaiting both the technical and legal texts before passing final judgement.”