UK has not breached Northern Ireland protocol: UK trade minister
March 5, 2021
LONDON (Reuters) – British trade minister Liz Truss said Britain had not breached the Northern Ireland protocol in the Brexit trade deal, something it has been accused of doing by the European Union which has promised to take legal action.
“These are temporary easements and it’s perfectly common practice whilst deals are being implemented to have temporary easements in place,” Truss told Sky News on Friday.
“That is not a breach of the protocol and we’re very clear about that.”
The British government extended a grace period for some checks on agricultural and food products imported by retailers to Northern Ireland until Oct. 1, in a move Brussels said violated the terms of Britain’s divorce deal.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Paul Sandle; editing by Michael Holden)