LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – British retailer Marks & Spencer warned on Friday its popular Percy Pig candy could be subject to tariffs if it re-exported the product to European Union countries, including Ireland.
Chief Executive Steve Rowe said the pink candy, along with about a third of the product in the M&S food business, was subject to the very complex “rules of origin” regulations that are part of the UK trade deal with the EU which takes effect on Christmas Eve.
The rules relate to the composition of individual products and how much they have been changed in the United Kingdom.
Any product manufactured in Europe, imported into the UK and then redistributed to EU countries will be subject to a tariff.
“The best example I can give you is Percy Pig,” Rowe told reporters, as M&S updated on the Christmas trade.
“Percy Pig is actually produced in Germany. “If we come to England and then we send it to Ireland, in theory there will be a tax on it,” he said.
M&S warned on Friday that the tariff issue would have a significant impact on its businesses in Ireland, the Czech Republic and franchises in France.
He said he was working to reduce the problem.
Reporting by James Davey; Edited by Kate Holton