The deal, published yesterday (31 January), will also see the end of a two-year boycott of the Northern Irish legislature, Stormont, by the DUP, and potentially return the country to government.
Building on March 2023’s Windsor framework, the deal will eliminate routine checks on mainland goods arriving into Northern Ireland, and allow Northern Irish goods unfettered access to the mainland in return – even if arriving from a Republic of Ireland port.
A new body, Intertrade UK, will be set up to help promote trade between the Irish territory and the rest of the UK, and the agreement will be supported by legislation in Westminster.
Northern Irish printers welcomed the easing of trade restrictions, and the deal’s expected restoration of a functioning legislature.
Aaron Klewchuck, managing director at mixed discipline commercial printer Ballyprint, said the deal’s elimination of trade restrictions would prove especially helpful in getting raw materials and machinery in from the UK.
He said: “In the past few years, it’s been a bit of a disaster – the rising cost of shipment, and extra paperwork alone has been humungous.
“You could employ someone full-time just to do all that paperwork – so hopefully it will improve things.”
Richard Campbell, managing director at digital printer Northside Graphics – itself recently acquired by private equity firm Bestport – agreed that the lack of red tape for suppliers could only be a good thing.
He told Printweek: “It’s going to make things even easier. There’s going to be no paperwork from Great Britain to Northern Ireland,” he said.
The legislature’s return will likewise prove itself helpful to printers, according to BPIF economist and Northern Ireland manager, Kyle Jardine.
Speaking to Printweek, he said that businesses wanted above all an end to uncertainty, an end to strikes, and attention given to the NHS.
He added: “I’m not convinced that businesses yet see too much practical change from what has been agreed, perhaps more time is required for that to become apparent.
“However, it’s great that Great British trade to Northern Ireland should have fewer checks and less paperwork, even if via a Republic of Ireland port.”
Campbell added: “That can only drive growth in all sectors. Northern Ireland has actually been flourishing, after Covid.
“There are bits and pieces of legislation that England, Scotland and Wales have had over the past few years – around parental leave, for example, there have been positive changes, so it will be good [for Northern Ireland].
“We’re still part of the UK, so there’s a lot of work to do to catch us up.”
Klewchuck added that the return to Stormont would also be of material benefit to Northern Irish firms because of all of the development agencies – such as Invest Northern Ireland – that rely on Stormont to allocate funding finally being able to function again.
He said: “That’s originally where there was a lot of European money available – so obviously, there’s been very little budget that has come in for those grants.
“Hopefully once we have Stormont back, that money is going to become available again, and directly have a positive impact on a lot of businesses.
“At the end of the day, it will just be good to get a working government.”
