Six British supermarkets on Sunday called for “swift, decisive, and cooperative movement” over the future of trade between Britain and Northern Ireland. Without a solution, they warned, retailers may end up shifting supply chains from Britain to the EU.
In a letter to U.K. Brexit minister David Frost and European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, the group, which includes Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, said “much more needs to be done before the end of September if there is not to be significant disruption to supply and an increase in cost for Northern Ireland consumers.”
Under Brexit arrangements, Northern Ireland should follow EU food-quality rules. But the issue of controls on products moving from Britain to the region has sparked tension between U.K. and EU authorities, and led to business concerns over costs and delays. A grace period on applying the rules is due to end on September 30, but there’s no long-term solution in place.
The British retailers called on both officials to “help us to minimise this disruption and allow us to…
