Goods that now arrive into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK are subjected to more stringent checks and controls.
In the scenario that either the UK or EU feel that the protocol is leading to significant issues or hampering their capacity to trade, then they have the option of activating Article 16.
The component sets out the process for taking unilateral “safeguard” measures, which in reality would amount to suspending parts of the deal.
Specifically, Article 16 says safeguard measures can be taken if the protocol is leading to serious “economic, societal or environmental difficulties” that are liable to persist.
