Logistics UK response to NI grace periods extension

Wednesday 03 March 2021

In response to the news today (3 March 2021) that the UK government will extend the grace periods relating to border checks on some agri-food goods – also known as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) goods – which were set to expire after 31 March 2021, Logistics UK’s Policy Manager for Northern Ireland, Seamus Leheny, comments: 

“Extending the current grace periods for the movement of SPS goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is vital to protect supply chains; we are pleased the government listened to the advice we shared with Rt Hon Michael Gove MP and European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič at a recent roundtable meeting. Today’s decision will ensure logistics businesses in the agri-food sector will not face significant administrative burden come 1 April 2021 and will allow time to plan and deliver a permanent scheme that will reduce friction on SPS goods, such as a Trusted Trader Scheme. And, with this being unilateral action, Logistics UK is urging the UK and EU to work together on a solution that protects NI’s supply chains in the long-term." 

Logistics UK (formerly FTA) is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With COVID-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.