It is very unfortunate that the new trading rules, introduced through the EU’s General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), are leading to some businesses in the UK to suspend selling their goods into Northern Ireland.
The new rules have brought in new requirements that businesses must adhere to, including the need to have an agent either in Northern Ireland or the EU. These have been introduced because NI is still effectively in the EU’s single market for goods due to the way Brexit has been implemented.
Not Enough Time To Prepare For The New Rules
Critics of the new system are saying that there hasn’t been enough time to get everything in place to ensure that businesses are compliant. Johanna Haughey-Lewis, the owner of homewares business Weirdstock, is one business owner who has suspended sales to NI and is quoted in an article on the BBC News website, where she said about these new trade rules:
“there hasn’t been enough time or enough information in order to get this right”.
She went on to say: “Whenever you look at the government website, the information on GPSR only came up there very recently, so not enough time for businesses to prepare,
“Even some of the bigger retail stockists that I am with have only communicated about this for the first time this week, a few days before the deadline.
“So it’s not just the small businesses that aren’t aware of it; there has been no kind of campaign or information about it,” she added.
“As many of you know I am from Northern Ireland, Weirdstock has a wee customer base there so I am finding this particularly frustrating.
“But at the same time I am determined to find a solution,” she wrote.
The New Legislation Is A Step Backwards
The new requirements include the need to provide documentation to demonstrate the safety of your product.
“There is no template for that, no guidance. It is very hard to find information on that,” Ms Haughey-Lewis said.
“This new legislation which feels like it has come out of nowhere, a bit of a surprise to me, it really has felt like a step backwards”.
It is disturbing to hear how these new trading rules are already putting many businesses off selling their goods into Northern Ireland. Small businesses in particular need all the help they can get to guide them through the process so that they remain compliant and they are happy to carry on trading.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.