Unfettered market access for Northern Ireland traders

The Government has committed to unfettered access for Northern Ireland traders to the rest of the UK market.  

The UK Government is adopting a two phased approach to implement this commitment.  

Phase 1 will apply from 1 January 2021. In this phase a qualifying Northern Ireland good is one that either: 

• is present in Northern Ireland and not subject to any customs supervision, restriction or control  
• has undergone processing operations in Northern Ireland incorporating either domestic goods or goods not under customs supervision, restriction or control at the time of processing  

Phase 2 will be brought forward over the course of 2022 and will focus on qualifying status for Northern Ireland businesses. Further detail on Phase 2 will be released in due course. 

There is more detail on moving foods or feeds from Northern Ireland to Great Britain under The Northern Ireland Protocol.