The government has confirmed that the planned ‘Not for EU’ labels scheme will be dropped following a consultation.
In a policy update released yesterday, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said it would not be moving forward with the scheme, confirming several media reports that the plans were being dropped.
The labelling requirement, set out by the previous Conservative government to comply with the Windsor Framework, was set to come into force from today (1 October).
‘Tricky to get right’
The Daily Update had reported previously that the labels were slated to be dropped, ahead of government confirmation.
Maighdlin Gibson, trade and customs specialist at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, said at the time that the labelling requirement “was always going to be a tricky one to get right”, as it placed “additional planning and spending burdens on businesses, while requiring compliance with the Windsor Framework.”
Defra said it has “carefully reviewed” the evidence from the consultation carried out earlier this year before making the decision to drop the plans:
“We welcome the ongoing commitment of businesses to continue to serve their customers in Northern Ireland.
“Based on that engagement, we will not proceed with the introduction of ‘Not for EU’ labelling on a mandatory basis in Great Britain on 1 October 2024.
Return possible
Defra added that it was committed to safeguarding the supermarket supply chain into Northern Ireland.
It also added that the ‘Not for EU’ labels could be revived in the future “if that is required to secure those supplies across the UK internal market.”
Retail scheme
In the same missive, the government announced that the next phase of the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme, implemented as part of the Windsor Framework, will go ahead as planned from today.
The scheme will bring more dairy products within the scope of the labelling requirements for moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and will apply to businesses on both sides of the Irish Sea.
Further delays
Two provisions of the Windsor Framework previously slated to enter force at the start of October had also been pushed back until 2025, the Daily Update reported previously.
A raft of new customs processes were due to enter force in October for parcels and freight, but have now been pushed back to March 2025.
The most significant was the introduction of customs processes for business-to-business parcels moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Parcel carriers were also expected to apply to a new ‘trusted trader’ scheme.
