As a small UK business, we pride ourselves on providing excellent service and making our products available to as many customers as possible. However, recent regulatory changes have presented us with significant challenges regarding shipping to Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, was introduced to prevent the re-establishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To achieve this, Northern Ireland remains aligned with the EU’s single market for goods, while the rest of the UK operates outside of this framework. While this alignment avoids physical border checks, it creates a complex regulatory landscape for businesses like ours that ship goods to Northern Ireland.
On 13th December 2024, new regulations under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will take effect. These require businesses to:
Appoint an EU-based agent to verify that products meet compliance standards.
Complete extensive paperwork to certify product safety.
For small businesses, the financial and administrative burden of these requirements is substantial. Unfortunately, these new rules have made it unsustainable for us to continue shipping to Northern Ireland at this time.
Regrettably, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend shipping to Northern Ireland. This was not a decision we took lightly and we deeply regret the inconvenience it causes to our valued customers in Northern Ireland.
To all our customers in Northern Ireland: we sincerely apologise for this disruption. We understand how frustrating this situation is, and we want you to know that we are committed to finding a path forward. We remain hopeful that clearer and more practical solutions will emerge, allowing us to resume shipping in the future.
As the regulatory landscape evolves, we will continue to monitor the situation closely. Our goal is to re-establish shipping to Northern Ireland as soon as it becomes feasible. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience, understanding and continued support during this challenging transition.
Thank you for being part of our journey. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our customer support team.
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