Business, Freight News, Logistics


GB-NI trade still a headache says Logistics UK – updated

[ March 14, 2025   //   ]

Northern Ireland’s trade with GB is struggling to overcome challenges posed by the regulations imposed by the Windsor Framework said Logistics UK head of trade and devolved policy Nichola Mallon, giving evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee.

She said there is a lack of awareness over the practicalities of the Framework, and also a reluctance among some GB businesses to move goods into Northern Ireland due to the additional requirements:

“The consensus within our membership is that the Windsor Framework was to some extent oversold and created a misperception that all of the challenges under the Northern Ireland Protocol have been removed.

“This has created two effects: a lack of awareness, particularly among GB businesses, of the requirements that must be met under the Windsor Framework and, to some degree, a reluctance among some GB-based businesses to trade into Northern Ireland because of the administrative and cost impacts of meeting all of the necessary requirements.”

Mallon also highlighted the changes that are being introduced from 31 March regarding the movement of parcels from GB to NI and called for a greater awareness campaign in the remaining weeks: “There are significant new processes that will be required if you’re moving parcels, particularly business to business parcels, and HMRC has improved their communications of late, but there is a need for a much greater awareness campaign in the last remaining number of weeks to raise awareness and help with preparedness.

“With the rise in e-commerce, almost every household and business in NI relies, one way or another, on parcels. It is essential that businesses are supported to adapt to these significant changes to ensure the smooth flow of trade. 

“Groupage operators and the Pallet Networks are key to the GB to NI supply chain and these businesses are facing particular cost and administrative pressures under the Windsor Framework. Logistics UK will continue to make the case for a Trusted Haulier Scheme to support this sector upon which so many sole traders and SMEs rely.”

In an interview with FBJ, Nichola Mallon pointed out parcel movements from GB to NI currently operate under a waiver but that this will end on 31 March. After that date, for business to business movements either the sender or the receiver of the parcel must be registered under the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS) but awareness of this is lacking, particularly in GB. (There is a UK Carrier Scheme for conbsumer parcels.)

Mallon said that the express parcels operators were currently doing a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure that things ran smoothly after 31 March, but there was a risk that some shippers would abandon the NI market, at least temporarily, or that surcharges could be imposed on goods sent to NI.

Mallomn added that HMRC has promised that it will take a pragmatic and supportive approach to compliance. Logistics UK has in turn asked HMRC that Border Force and orther agencies on the ground will take a similarly pragmatic approach in the early days of the new regime. “Our experience of the post-Brexit trading environment is that policy and operations are not always fully aligned,” she told FBJ.

Meanwhile, she added, checks on goods already subject to the Windsor Framework were not fully consistent and could be unpredictable. Checks on goods using the ‘Green Lane’ were currently running at around 10%, against a stated EU and UK target of 8%. Some traders are choosing to use the Red lane instead, not only to ensure consistency but because it also gives the option of selling goods into Ireland as well as Northern Ireland.

An independent monitoring panel was also set up some time ago but Logistics UK has not seen any terms of reference and it is unclear whether it is actually yet carrying out any work.

Mallon added that goods that are selected for checking can be subject to delays of up to two hours or more, which is a serious issue for sellers of fresh produce, bearing in mind that goods delivered to NI often have shorter shelf lives than in GB. More clarity and notification that checks were going to take place with a more trust-based approach would be welcome, she said.

Logistics UK  would also like to see more effort to ensure that Northern Ireland can take full advantage of its unique customs status, with access to both the EU and UK markets – something that could be thrown into even sharper focus if the US imposes import tariffs on the EWU but not the UK.

Invest NI has set up a dual market forum, back there is a lack of awareness of NI’s unique status, especially in the EU, says Mallon. Shhe adds: “NI also needs to create a more enabling environment with quick planning decisions for distribution centres . There isn’t a huge amount of land available for DCs at the moment and it can be a challenge to get a quick decision on these developments.”

Ports however could play a crucial role as locations for DCs as they have relatively large amounts of brownfield and similar land available for development.

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