PM reveals Asda woes over post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol
Asda is facing unnecessary checks on its goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland due to onerous post-Brexit red tape, according to Boris Johnson.
Johnson said there are some “very serious problems” with the way the EU was implementing the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol and that movement needs to happen “pretty fast” to fix the current situation.
Northern Ireland still follows the EU’s customs union and single market rules, unlike the rest of the UK, meaning there are checks on some goods crossing the Irish Sea.
The checks are designed to ensure that goods which do not meet certain specifications do not enter the EU’s single market through the backdoor.
However, Johnson and his government argues the EU are being too stringent in its border checks regime and that it is harming the local economy and putting peace at risk.
“Asda is not actually, they don’t actually have Asda shops sin the Republic of Ireland and yet Asda goods coming into Northern Ireland have all to be checked,” he said.
This would mean that the supermarket chain is facing onerous checks on its goods, despite there not being any risk of them entering the EU’s single market through the Republic of Ireland.
Asda was contacted for comment.
“I think the way the EU is trying to implement the protocol is grossly disproportionate and unnecessary,” Johnson added.
Brussels on the other hand says that it is following the Northern Ireland Protocol to the letter of the law.
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said earlier this week that the way the UK government is handling this issue is “going to cause huge problems”.
Asda chief executive Roger Burnley said last October that the conditions of the Northern Ireland Protocol were a “big stumbling block” and would negatively affect supermarkets in the region.
He also promised not to shut down Asda’s 16 Northern Ireland stores, despite potential supply chain problems.