Moving Goods in and out of Northern Ireland

Following the end of the transitional period for leaving the EU, Northern Ireland has a special status which means there are different rules applying in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the UK (that is Great Britain — GB). These rules (the Northern Ireland Protocol) were designed to ensure that there would be no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There are three main impacts where there are differences between the rules for GB and Northern Ireland due to the introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Government and the EU have agreed the Windsor Framework. To give businesses and individuals time to prepare, the implementation of the agreement will be phased in, with some of the new arrangements for goods, agrifood, pets and plant movements introduced in 2023 and the remainder in 2024 and 2025. The temporary standstill arrangements will continue to apply until these changes are introduced.

The UK Government will no longer proceed with the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, as the UK and EU have come to a negotiated agreement. Similarly, the agreement will mean the EU withdrawing all of the legal actions it has launched against the UK.