Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed there will be no border in the Irish Sea as a result of his Brexit deal despite different rules on goods as part of his proposed arrangements.
Under the deal, negotiated by Mr Johnson, Northern Ireland will continue to follow many European Union rules on food and manufactured goods, while the rest of the UK will not. The north will also be subject to EU customs rules but will remain part of the UK's customs territory.
Loyalists have reacted angrily to the proposals processes and checks which are widely interpreted as amounting to "an Irish Sea border."
The Prime Minister was taking part in a BBC phone in yesterday and was asked about the proposals by a caller from Belfast.
He claimed there would be no checks on any goods from Northern Ireland to the UK and that local businesses would not encounter additional paperwork or fees as a result of the deal.
"This is a matter for the UK government and we will make sure that businesses face no extra costs and no checks for stuff being exported from NI to GB," he said.
However Mr Johnson gave no commitments on what would happen with trade coming in the opposite direction.
The EU has particularly strict rules on the importation of "products of animal origin" which enter through a border inspection post where all shipments are subject to document checks.
