Are you having difficulty trading between UK nations? Let us know

Walpole will be attending a roundtable with the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) next Wednesday, 14th September. The OIM is a branch of the Competition and Markets Authority, and helps ensure effective trading among businesses within the UK post-EU exit by advising the UK government and the devolved administrations on how specific laws, rules, and regulations impact trade between UK nations (the UK internal market).

The purpose of the roundtable is to help inform its key statutory reports, which will be published in Spring 2023, as well as help the OIM achieve its mission to provide expert, independent, trusted advice and economic analysis to support the four nations to trade effectively within the UK Internal Market.

Before our meeting, we are asking for your feedback about any challenges or difficulties that you have in trading within between the four nations of the UK, especially any issues trading into or out of Northern Ireland.

While we would be grateful for any comments you have, we are especially interested in your answers to the following questions:

• What factors influence trade between the UK nations for your business?
• What is your business’s experience of any changes to trading rules, between one or more of the
• UK nations, which came into force after 31 December 2020?
• Do you anticipate any changes to trading rules between the UK nations?
• How did your business/ members respond to such changes – or how might they respond in future?
• What data or evidence do you recommend OIM obtain in relation to changes in trading rules (as described above)?

If you have any views or concerns about this area, please let us know before 9am on Wednesday 14th September by emailing here.