Full checks on goods crossing the Northern Irish border have been delayed again as the Government tries to avoid a new sausage war.
Brexit minister Lord Frost announced a 'standstill' deal to avoid a planned ban on exports, including chilled meats, from Britain across the Irish Sea.
The EU has not formalised the extension of the grace period but has agreed not to restart legal action while negotiations take place.
Talks between the two sides to break the stalemate have already resumed with the UK pushing for a rewrite of the post-Brexit deal it signed up to last year.
The truce will come as a big relief to Northern Ireland businesses which had faced huge amounts of red tape required by the new trading arrangements.
A No 10 spokesman said: "We have previously set out the importance of providing certainty for businesses and citizens through the standstill arrangements so that we can have the space for our discussions with the EU."
But Brussels could yet restart legal action against the the UK over breaches of the Brexit deal signed up to by Mr Johnson.
The Northern Ireland Protocol effectively keeps the province in the EU's single market for goods, avoiding a hard border with Ireland.
Speaking before Lord Frost’s announcement, Ireland’s deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said he expected an extension to the current grace periods.
“I think there is a high probability that it will happen, we are certainly open to it,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today.
Mr Varadkar said he expected the EU would agree to an extension in order to allow “deep and meaningful” talks about the protocol.
Brexit minister Lord Frost used a speech on Saturday to warn that difficulties over the deal risked creating “cold mistrust” with the European Union.
He has called for Brussels to accept a “substantial and significant change” to the arrangements.
