Unseemly political rows are nothing new for us, but the start of the Northern Ireland Protocol on New Year s Eve has also ushered in delayed consumer deliveries and empty supermarket shelves.
A DUP MP has challenged a logistics chief to call for the removal of the Northern Ireland Protocol as an “impediment to trade”.
Ian Paisley made the call six days into the operation of the mechanism which means the region effectively remains in the single market for goods and operates under different regulatory and customs arrangements to the rest of the UK.
The initial days of the operation have seen some lorries detained for hours over paperwork.
However, Seamus Leheny of Logistics UK queried what was available to replace the protocol, and said its removal, via article 16, could cause more chaos.
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.