The UK government says it is not “currently considering” copying European Union plans for a common charging cable.
The EU has provisionally agreed all new portable electronic devices must, by autumn 2024, use a USB Type-C charger, a move it says will benefit consumers.
Critics say it will stifle innovation.
Under the current post-Brexit arrangements, the regulation would apply to Northern Ireland, according to EU and UK officials.
According to the December 2021 parliamentary report: the “new requirements may also apply to devices sold in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Northern Ireland protocol in the Brexit agreement, potentially triggering divergence of product standards with the rest of the UK”.
The treaty works by keeping Northern Ireland inside the EU’s single market for goods, while the rest of the UK is outside it.
A row between the UK and EU about how to reform the Northern Ireland protocol remains unresolved.
“We are not currently considering replicating this requirement,” said a UK government spokesperson.
Apple products such as iPhone and iPads will have to conform to the new regulation, as will, eventually laptop computers. Existing devices will be exempt.
The agreement will be brought before the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers after their summer recesses, where it can be formally approved and then published.
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