Supermarket deliveries to Northern Ireland are currently under a standstill agreement that exempts them from any controls during the protocol negotiations. London and Brussels have already agreed a landmark deal giving the EU access to real-time data on trade flows from the UK to Northern Ireland. If Brussels sees evidence that Northern Ireland has become the back door for a flood of cheap bananas into the republic, it could insist on imposing its tariff. The fruit is much more likely to be classified as vulnerable if there is a big difference between UK and EU customs.
The government followed Brussels’ system of phased tariff liberalization over several years with a standard rate of £62/1,000kg for bananas as it negotiated a roll-over trade deal with Andean countries to replace the post-Brexit EU deal had left.
Source: ukdaily.news