Our response to UK Government statement on Northern Ireland Protocol

Angela McGowan, CBI Northern Ireland Director, said:
"After months of deliberations, businesses are exasperated that the Protocol continues to dominate the headlines with no end in sight.

“Firms are determined to make it work, and to see it bring much needed prosperity to Northern Ireland. That starts by the Joint Committee delivering on the Business Consultative Working Group immediately. It’s time for the EU and the UK to bring business into the discussions to break the deadlock.

“The extension of the chilled meat grace period provides negotiators with the space to achieve mutually agreed workable lasting solutions, including a bespoke veterinary agreement and trusted trader arrangements for the movements of goods in the UK internal market.

"These solutions need to be agreed urgently to unlock investment and give Northern Ireland’s businesses and households the certainty they need and deserve.”