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LONDON Traders selling goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom will face “real hardships” in the coming weeks after the post-Brexit regulatory border shattered normal operations, lobby groups said on Wednesday.
At a British parliamentary committee, representatives for the province’s farmers, retailers and logistics firms said British companies had not been able to prepare, or were not prepared, for new customs requirements after a last-minute trade deal.
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Hardships coming for traders at Northern Ireland s post-Brexit borders, lobby groups say Reuters 1/6/2021
LONDON (Reuters) - Traders selling goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom will face real hardships in the coming weeks after the post-Brexit regulatory border shattered normal operations, lobby groups said on Wednesday.
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At a British parliamentary committee, representatives for the province s farmers, retailers and logistics firms said British companies had not been able to prepare, or were not prepared, for new customs requirements after a last-minute trade deal.
Trucks have been sent back to Britain, some have been held for hours while they fill out forms and other suppliers have stopped servicing Northern Ireland until the new systems bed in.
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A lorry leaves the docks area in Belfast Harbour in Northern Ireland. The port is Northern Ireland’s main maritime gateway (AFP via Getty Images)
The Brexit deal for Northern Ireland is an unmitigated disaster and should be suspended, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said.
At a hearing of the Commons Northern Ireland committee on Wednesday MPs heard evidence from hauliers and retailers about the problems the new arrangements were causing compared to EU membership.
MP Ian Paisley Jr, the DUP s communities spokesperson who sits on the committee, said: They ve basically told us that the protocol and its workings, on day six, is an unmitigated disaster.
Brexit: Problems in first week of post-deal GB-NI trade
By Conor Macauley
Published
image copyrightReuters
image captionThe first lorries to cross the new Irish Sea trade border arrived in Belfast and Larne on Friday
Business leaders have described significant problems encountered on the Irish Sea trade border in the first week of its operation.
MPs were taking evidence on how new rules on imports from Great Britain to Northern Ireland were working.
They were told some British companies were not aware of how to comply and that had caused difficulty.
Six lorries on the first ferry arriving in Belfast on 1 January were delayed because of incomplete paperwork.
As many as 1000 vehicles cross over each day during January. In an evidence session, business leaders told how problems emerged on the very first ferry arriving in Belfast on January 1 as Brexit took hold - with UK firms unaware of how to comply with new rules. Six of 15 loaded lorries on that vessel were delayed due to incomplete paperwork. There had been no pre-notification about the contents and, on checking the manifest, officials in Belfast found it said only food . Delays of up to 12 hours have held back transit. Customs declarations and, in some cases, additional certification is now required for all goods moving to Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the UK under the terms agreed between London and Brussels.