Logistics UK's response to EU negotiations on Northern Ireland Protocol

Wednesday 13 October 2021

Business group Logistics UK has reacted with cautious optimism to today’s EU announcement on the Northern Ireland Protocol.  As Seamus Leheny, the organisation’s Northern Ireland policy manager says, the news will help logistics businesses to continue to deliver for organisations on both sides of the Irish Sea: 

“The news of movement from both sides in the negotiations on the future of the Northern Ireland Protocol is welcomed by logistics sector – Logistics UK and its members have been clear from the outset on the tests which any new agreement must meet, and the solutions proposed by the EU are a positive step in the right direction.   

“Both the UK Government’s command paper and the recent EU’s proposals contain promising elements in response to the concerns and suggestions Logistics UK raised in its engagement with the two parties, to mitigate and solve the practical issues businesses and supply chains are facing in the implementation of the protocol.  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. 

“However, as always, the devil is in the detail, and Logistics UK is awaiting both the technical and legal texts before passing final judgement.  Logistics UK will continue to work closely with both the UK Government and the European Commission to discuss these proposals in full to understand how these proposals will keep GB-NI supply chains moving efficiently.” 

Logistics UK 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.