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Under the deal, NI will continue to follow EU rules on agricultural and manufactured goods
The UK government is expected to publish proposals on Wednesday for how to implement the Northern Ireland part of the Brexit deal.
The Northern Ireland ‘protocol’ is supposed to be operational by January.
It has to be applied even if the UK and EU do not reach a trade deal.
It will mean businesses in Northern Ireland facing new checks and controls on goods coming in from other parts of the UK.
Under the deal, reached in October, Northern Ireland will continue to follow EU rules on agricultural and manufactured goods.
The rest of the UK will stop following these rules at the end of the Brexit transition period in January.
Additionally, the whole of the UK will leave the EU’s customs union but Northern Ireland will continue to enforce the EU’s customs code at its ports.
This will mean will mean a range of new processes for GB-NI trade.
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Michel Barnier said he is still waiting for the UK to lay out its approach.
The EU has been concerned that the UK has not been taking practical steps to prepare for these changes.
Last week, its chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said he was still waiting for the UK to lay out its approach.
However, the UK government has already told the EU it will develop Border Control Posts (BCPs) at Northern Ireland’s ports.
The EU has strict rules on the entry of animals and food products into the single market.
These products must always enter the single market through designed BCPs.
Live animals entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain are already subject to checks but food products are not.
The UK and EU have been in dispute about whether the EU should have a permanent technical office in Belfast to oversee checks.
The EU say the office is required and permitted under the deal.
However, the Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said it would amount to a ‘mini embassy” and is unacceptable to the UK.