As the weather improves, many people’s focus is turning to gardening. With Northern Ireland reliant on parts of Great Britain for its supply of plants the UK government has announced unilateral moves to ease the trade rules.
On the scale of things, plants may not be a critical import or export for the two nations, but the move has been taken without the agreement of the EU which has already said it is preparing legal action against the UK for changing the implementation of the Northern Ireland Brexit deal without its agreement.
This decision, therefore, has wider implications for the EU-UK trade relationship. Under the rules of the Brexit trade agreements, Northern Ireland has remained a part of the EU’s single market for goods, which includes following EU plant health rules.
This means that soil from other parts of the UK cannot legally enter Northern Ireland, which has caused a shortage of supplies in garden centres across the country.
The rule also means that most bulbs or vegetables that have been grown in soil cannot be sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland with soil attached and traders in agricultural machinery must ensure that equipment has been washed to remove excess soil and plant debris.
Some plants grown in Great British soil can be moved with soil attached, provided they are from an authorised business meeting plant passporting requirements for soil.
The Government has said: “These temporary, practical arrangements recognise the need to ensure biosecurity on the island of Ireland is not compromised whilst addressing barriers which stop goods moving into Northern Ireland.”
In response, EU Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer, said: “If people are talking about us trying to find agreement on prolonging the grace periods, which must be a joint decision in the context of the joint committee, then the UK also has to do its homework on those practical steps that it has to implement.
“It should have implemented some of them already some time ago. We are looking to the UK to respect and implement those commitments.”
While the transportation of plants, soil and agricultural machinery may seem like an insignificant issue in the grand scheme of things, it highlights the complexities of post-Brexit trade and the need for importers and exporters to seek advice.
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