UK Brexit trade 'situation to get worse' before it improves

As supermarkets in Northern Ireland struggle to fill shelves following new Brexit regulations, UK's Michael Gove has said that things will get worse still.

The British government is aiming to resolve trade disruptions between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said amid reports of problems caused by post-Brexit regulations coming into force at the beginning of the year. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) sent a report to the minister warning that the "supply chain is collapsing and within a matter of a week may totally collapse," Northern Ireland's The News Letter reported on Saturday. Several supermarket chains in Northern Ireland were forced to withdraw some produce from their shelves as the new regulations caused backlogs and delays. An editor for TheNews Letter tweeted a picture of oranges at a supermarket warehouse in Belfast, saying that the fruit took too long to arrive from the mainland and eventually needed to be thrown out. Gove: The government is 'ironing it out' On Friday, Gove said the government was working on the issue, but added: "We said that there would be some initial disruption, we're ironing it out, but the situation will get worse before it gets better." There were also disruptions at Calais during the first week after Brexit came into full effect, as well as for haulers heading to the Republic of Ireland. The situation is expected to deteriorate as activity ramps up after the relatively quiet holiday season. "The real challenge and potential for significant disruption starts next week, when we expect that the number of lorries heading to the border may return to normal levels," Gove said.

According to new regulations, drivers must fill out a slew of new paperwork when they travel to the EU. So far 700 trucks have been turned away from the border and 150 fines had been given out for non-compliance, the British government said.

The Republic of Ireland announced a temporary easing of customs arrangements on Friday to facilitate the movement of haulers and businesses that were struggling with the new documentation regulations, the

Irish Times newspaper reported, although it was not clear how long the easing would last.

Northern Ireland borders the independent Republic of Ireland, making it the only part of the UK to share a land border with the EU. The goods from the rest of the UK are transported across the Irish Sea.

ab/dj (dpa, Reuters)

The sea border in the Irish Sea has caused teething problems for British trade with the province of Northern Ireland