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The UK Government has announced that it is extending the grace period for implementing full border controls on certain goods travelling from Britain to NI indefinitely.
Existing grace periods applying to the likes of chilled meat products and retail goods were due to run out on 30 September 2021.
It means that products such as sausages, which cannot normally enter the EU from a third country, can continue to be sold in NI.
Also major retailers will still be able to send over consignments without certificates to accompany each individual product.
In a statement on Monday, Brexit Minister Lord Frost said the decision to extend the grace periods was to give space for further discussions, and certainty for businesses.
The announcement was met with a muted response from the EU.
Issues
However, the extension of the grace periods does not solve previous issues raised by farmers relating to the NI Protocol, and in particular the movement of breeding sheep from Britain to NI.
Meanwhile, the UK Government is also expected to delay further the introduction of border controls on goods entering from the EU, which are due to come into force on 1 October 2021.
Earlier this week, Irish Tánaiste Leo Varadkar suggested that would be the case following a meeting he had with UK Government minister Michael Gove.
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