LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The lobby group that represents
the British retail sector on Tuesday welcomed a call from the UK
government for the European Union to extend a post-Brexit grace
period for Northern Ireland.
British senior minister Michael Gove said there were serious
problems with the post-Brexit arrangements for trade with
Northern Ireland and called for an extension of the grace
periods currently relaxing some rules.
“We are pleased the government has recognised the challenge
facing supermarkets and other retailers operating in Northern
Ireland," said Andrew Opie, trade policy advisor at the British
Retail Consortium (BRC).
The BRC's Northern Ireland director Aodhán Connolly also
welcomed the move.
“Michael Gove is absolutely right – we do need an extension
to the grace period to ensure that hard-pressed NI families are
not affected by further disruption in the availability of
goods," he said.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Costas Pitas)