M&S Boss Slams “Bureaucratic Madness” Over New NI Labelling Rules

The chief executive of Marks & Spencer has launched a scathing critique of the government’s post-Brexit trading rules with the EU, urging a swift reset in relations and condemning fresh labelling and inspection requirements for goods heading to Northern Ireland as “bureaucratic madness”.

Stuart Machin, who leads the high street giant with 25 stores in Northern Ireland, warned that from next week the retailer must label an additional 1,000 products destined for the region with “not for EU”, while a further 400 will be subjected to “additional checks”.

The new labelling is intended to prevent goods intended for sale in Northern Ireland from being diverted to the Republic of Ireland, which remains part of the EU.

Posting on X, Machin said the latest requirements created “yet another layer of unnecessary costs and red tape for food retailers like M&S”.

“Quite frankly it’s bureaucratic madness, confusing for customers, and completely unnecessary given the UK has some of the highest food standards in the world,” he added.

The updated rules come ahead of a new agreement between the UK government and the EU that aims to remove the need for sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on exports of farm products. These include vegetables, fresh meat, dairy, timber, wool and leather. Although the deal, announced in May as part of a broader effort to reset UK-EU relations, has been welcomed, final details are still under negotiation and may take up to a year to conclude.

In the meantime, the government has announced a pause on the planned summer introduction of checks on “medium-risk fruit and vegetables” imported from the EU – including items like tomatoes, peppers, grapes, plums and cherries.

Machin expressed strong support for the pending SPS deal, stating: “The government’s SPS deal with the EU will be gamechanging, and it can’t come soon enough!”

The final phase of the Windsor Framework will also come into effect on 1 July. The agreement, which aimed to ease the Irish Sea trade border established by Brexit while protecting the EU single market, will now require additional product labelling, including the “not for EU” tag on selected goods.

Originally, this label was required only for meat and some fresh dairy products. Now, however, its use will extend more widely, although some unpackaged fruit and vegetables, confectionery, chocolate, pasta, biscuits and coffee remain exempt.

The Windsor Framework, which came into force in March 2023, amended earlier Brexit arrangements. Its rollout was partially smoothed by the introduction of a trusted trader scheme, which allowed many large businesses to streamline the movement of goods across the Irish Sea.

Marks & Spencer has long voiced concerns over the post-Brexit trade regime. In May 2021, just months after the UK’s exit from the EU, the retailer revealed that new trading arrangements had cost the business around £30 million in relation to its operations on the island of Ireland. Since then, the company has adapted by revising its sourcing and supply chain practices.

Source: The Guardian