The "Not for EU" labels are required in NI as part of the UK's deal with the EU to reduce checks on British products entering NI. The last government had proposed making the labels compulsory in the rest of the UK as way of making sure retailers did not stop supplying products to NI. /3

The Safeguarding the Union paper said: "A labelling requirement which applies only to goods on the market in Northern Ireland could create a disincentive for businesses and traders to place goods for sale on the Northern Ireland market. /4