Northern Ireland’s current trading arrangement came about as the result of a Brexit deal between the EU and UK in 2019, which was revised in 2023, and is now known as the Windsor Framework.
They agreed that the most practical way to keep the border open between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was for Northern Ireland to follow many EU laws on the regulation of goods.
However this means that goods coming from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland face checks and controls to ensure they meet EU rules.
This arrangement has become known as the Irish Sea border.
It has had a particular impact on the food industry as Northern Ireland supermarkets are still largely supplied from distribution centres in England and Scotland.
New border control posts have been built at NI ports to facilitate checks on food products arriving from GB.
The new deal should substantially reduce the impact of the sea border for food and plants as there will be no regulatory differences between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
However it will not remove the need for customs paperwork.