Policy paper

Process for introducing ‘not for EU’ labelling for goods sold in Great Britain

Published 5 June 2025

The Marking of Retail Goods Regulations 2025 confer a power on the Secretary of State to issue a notice. This will require operators to individually mark the products specified in the notice as ‘not for EU’ before those products are placed on the market for sale to consumers in Great Britain.

This policy paper includes details on the process that should be undertaken by the Secretary of State in any decision to apply a notice and introduce ‘not for EU’ labelling for goods sold in Great Britain. A process map is included at annex A.

The Secretary of State anticipates exercising these powers only to the extent necessary to ensure the continued supply of goods in scope of the labelling requirement into Northern Ireland.

As outlined in Regulation 13, they will review the operation of these regulations, and any notices applied under these regulations, 2 years after they have come into force and set out any changes they propose to make to this policy paper, the regulations or any notices applied under these regulations, to Parliament.

Monitoring process

Regulation 3(3) of the regulations sets out that the Secretary of State will consider certain forms of evidence in a decision to apply a notice and introduce labelling for certain retail goods in Great Britain. To understand where there may be a risk of disruption to supply in Northern Ireland, Defra officials are responsible for an active and ongoing monitoring process.

Monitoring

Defra has established a process to monitor goods within scope of the regulations where sold within the United Kingdom. This information will be used to understand historic and current point of sale information for those goods, including differences between availability in Great Britain compared to Northern Ireland, to confirm whether consumers in Northern Ireland are seeing the availability of retail goods on shelves change.

Defra is working with relevant customs and competent authorities within the United Kingdom to understand how goods have been moved into Northern Ireland. This will be used to ascertain changes in the way goods are being moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland - including the extent to which goods are being moved via the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) versus using the Official Controls Regulation, known as the ‘red lane’. This data will inform understanding of changes in the extent to which goods are being moved from Great Britain into Northern Ireland.

Industry working group

To support businesses with meeting relevant requirements for the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland including any ‘not for EU’ labelling, the government may establish an industry working group, if needed to supplement existing routes of business engagement. Any working group would be co-chaired by Defra officials and representatives from Defra stakeholders. 

We recognise that industry will know soonest when they may be having challenges in placing a product on the market in Northern Ireland, or in meeting certain requirements during the process of production. To that end, the Secretary of State will consider information as regards the current, and future, availability of goods provided by businesses within the United Kingdom as a form of evidence when making a determination about whether to impose the requirement to label goods ‘not for EU’. Defra officials will work closely with businesses, and any industry working group, to review, and validate, information provided to the government prior to its use in any decision-making process.

Shift in the market is observed

Officials will use the information gathered through the monitoring process described above to identify and understand the reasons for changes or ‘shifts’ in the market. Where officials observe a shift in how or the extent to which goods are being made available to consumers in Northern Ireland, this will trigger the next stage in the process and engagement with impacted businesses will follow. For illustrative purposes, a ‘shift’ could be a:

• drop in sales of a certain retail good

• report from a business that they are going to remove a retail good from the Northern Ireland market

• reduction in the movement of a certain retail good via the scheme

Any one of these events would trigger the next stage of the process, which will look to identify whether the reason for the change is as a result of labelling requirements by cross referencing with the other forms of monitoring being undertaken and consider other factors set out below.

Analysis and engagement with impacted businesses

Engagement with impacted businesses

The government is clear that a notice should only be applied where it is appropriate and necessary to do so, based on the process outlined in Regulation 3 of the regulations, in order to safeguard the supply of goods in Northern Ireland. To that end, both preventative and reactive measures may be undertaken in order to support businesses in continuing to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

To support businesses in meeting the labelling requirements associated with NIRMS, the government has published guidance on the commodity codes exempt from the requirement, conducted webinars in the run up to the phased introductions of labelling and offered targeted 1:1 support to businesses.

However, we recognise that there are businesses who might prefer to use the ‘red lane’ to move goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland based on what works for their business models. This could be the retailer moving product directly to their stores in Northern Ireland, or a manufacturer or wholesaler with distribution centres in Northern Ireland who will subsequently move product to retailers in Northern Ireland.

Should there be evidence that supply is, or is likely to be, seriously adversely affected as a result of labelling requirements associated with NIRMS, Defra officials will engage with those businesses (or where appropriate relevant trade associations) to understand and troubleshoot issues as appropriate.

Analysis of data

Alongside troubleshooting with relevant businesses, officials will seek to understand the shift in greater detail by looking at historic or current trade flows or trade patterns as well as exploring how resilient supply chains are as per Regulation 3(3)(a) and (b). This might include:

• looking at whether other, similar goods have seen the same drop in sales

• requesting forecasts from a business to validate their claims

• looking at whether ‘red lane’ usage has increased

It will also be important to recognise that there are various factors which may influence the way in which retail goods are being made available for sale in Northern Ireland outside of the ‘not for EU’ labelling requirement. Therefore, the Secretary of State may have regard to any other relevant data when determining whether to issue a notice as per Regulation 3(3)(d).

In developing their advice to the Secretary of State, officials will consider how other global factors may have influenced the availability of goods in Northern Ireland. This could include:

• issues related to both domestic and global food supply and the sustainability of food production, on which UK food supply depends

• the stability and resilience of the UK’s food supply chain from production to consumption (this includes the physical, human, and economic infrastructure underlying the food supply chain)

• household expenditure on food (including in comparison to expenditure on other items)

• food safety and consumer confidence in food

As part of this advice, it will also be crucial for the Secretary of State to understand the wider situation. Therefore, when producing their advice officials may consider the current economic situation and business activity across the United Kingdom as a whole, to ascertain how they are contributing to the availability of products in NI. This could include:

• whether there are similarities in the availability of the retail goods in Great Britain compared to that of Northern Ireland

• business activity within the United Kingdom - particularly within those sectors responsible for retail goods

• economic factors, including but not limited to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI)

• trade with the United Kingdom - including the status of the current account in relation to retail goods

Finally, officials may also consider societal factors, like how ‘important’ a product is in Northern Ireland and therefore could warrant action. This could include:

• how the unavailability of a retail good will impact the overall market, for example if one brand monopolises the market for that retail good, that impact could be taken into account

• retail goods with health benefits or those of cultural significance

• identification of uniquely significant or popular products in NI by comparing to GB consumer habits

Evidence provided to the Secretary of State

If troubleshooting has proved ineffective, the analysis set out above will be used to inform the evidence provided to the Secretary of State who may recommend a notice is applied on the basis of this analysis.

Monitoring will be an active and enduring process, with officials considering the evidence on at least a fortnightly basis. However, noting the time and burden associated with introducing new labelling requirements, the Secretary of State will undertake to apply a notice no more than twice a year, unless there are exceptional circumstances that warrant further notices being applied.

Role of devolved governments

Labelling is a devolved matter in the United Kingdom, and therefore the views of the Scottish and Welsh ministers, will be a key part of any decision to apply labelling in Great Britain. Defra has worked closely with its counterparts to develop the regulations. Therefore, the Secretary of State will share the evidence with their counterparts as part of the process in deciding whether labelling should proceed, this is set out in further detail in a concordat agreed between the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments.

Role of the independent monitoring panel

The Safeguarding the Union Command Paper confirmed that the government would appoint an independent monitoring panel responsible for independent oversight of the operational implementation of the Windsor Framework. The panel, in particular, has responsibility for the UK Internal Market Guarantee governing the flows of trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The panel will also have responsibilities in connection with the decision to apply a notice. The Secretary of State may share the evidence outlined above with the panel for their consideration. Any views expressed by the panel as to whether labelling should or should not be introduced in Great Britain may constitute further evidence informing a decision to apply a notice.

Application of a notice

Regulation 3 empowers the Secretary of State to introduce ‘not for EU’ labelling by commodity by notice. This notice will be published in the London (England and Wales) and Edinburgh (Scotland) Gazette in order to make businesses aware of the requirement. This will set out commodities in scope, by commodity code, along with a description of the commodity and the date from which this will become mandatory.

Commodity codes ^{[footnote 1]} refer to the globalised system for the classification of goods according to their nature, origin or any other factor. Defra has published guidance on the commodity codes of the goods which are exempt from individual labelling to support businesses. This guidance should be used in conjunction with any notice that may be issued in Great Britain - noting that there are further exemptions in Great Britain set out in Regulation 6 of the regulations which may be relevant.

As set out in Regulation 4(3) to 4(5), the Secretary of State will publish an explanatory statement which sets out why their decision to intervene was justified.

Once a notice has come into force, it is the responsibility of the enforcement authority to enforce its requirements. They are empowered to issue compliance notices and civil, financial penalties as necessary where there is non-compliance.

Scope and exemptions

The goods that are in scope of the application of a notice, are those that are in scope of the product-level labelling requirements associated with NIRMS. There is no box or shelf-level labelling requirement under these regulations. In addition, this means that many shelf-stable goods (for example cakes, pasta, confectionery) will not require labelling. Nor will goods sold loose or by weight (for example vegetables) or individual goods for direct consumption on the spot (for example in a cafe). The government has published labelling guidance in order to support traders with understanding these requirements which is updated periodically by Defra.

In addition, certain exemptions have been provided for in the regulations which are reflective of views ascertained through the consultation and engagement that has been carried out around the development of this policy:

a. Small businesses, as defined in the Companies Act 2006, will be exempt. This means that neither the small business responsible for selling the goods in Great Britain, nor the small business responsible for producing the goods (even if they are sold onward by a business who does not meet the definition of a small business) will not be required by this legislation to label their goods. This is in line with the UK government’s plan for economic growth, which recognises that small businesses are the lifeblood of communities and high streets across the country.

b. Qualifying Northern Ireland goods, per the definition in The Definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, will be exempt. Northern Ireland producers will never need to label their goods in order to supply Great Britain, in line with the government’s commitment to unfettered market access.

c. Food for special medical purposes, will be exempt where they are not already explicitly carved out in the arrangements for NIRMS. This includes any product which is specifically formulated to support the dietary or medical needs of an individual who cannot eat normal foodstuffs. This approach is proposed to safeguard these vital supplies and will support the government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future.

Review

Regulation 13 provides that the Secretary of State must undertake a statutory review of these regulations every 5 years. The conclusions of this review must be set out in a report, which must:

• set out the objectives intended to be achieved by these regulations

• assess the extent to which the objectives have been achieved

• assess whether the objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved in a less burdensome way

The first review period is the period of 2 years beginning with the day on which the regulations come into force.

Each subsequent review period is a period of 5 years beginning with the date on which the report of the preceding review was published.

Further to this, Defra officials, as part of the enduring market monitoring function, will keep any notice issued by the Secretary of State under review.

Annex A: Indicative process map

The flowchart above sets out that the monitoring process will detect shifts or potential shifts in the availability of goods in Northern Ireland, resulting in further analysis and engagement with impacted businesses.

If the issue cannot be resolved or prevented, evidence will be provided to the Secretary of State, following consultation with devolved governments and the independent monitoring panel. If significant adverse effects are identified, a notice will be applied.  

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1. HM Government, The Tariff of the United Kingdom, December 2024. ↩