Speaking in the Lords, the Brexit minister set out proposals to strike a "new balance" on Northern Ireland with the European Union. He told peers the UK wanted to see a number of changes, including removing the governance of the Protocol by EU institutions and the Court of Justice.
Lord Frost told peers in Parliament: "Putting simply, we cannot go on.
"We have seen reductions in supermarket product lines, we have seen 200 suppliers decide they would no longer sell to Northern Ireland.
"We have seen difficulties not just on the famous chilled meats issue but on medicines, on pets, on movements of live animals, on seeds, on plants and on many others."
He said the problems caused by the Protocol were serious enough that the UK could trigger the legal mechanisms necessary to suspend its implementation.
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However, the minister said Britain would not currently use the Article 16 legal safeguard but instead seek to "urgently" hold talks with Brussels on the UK's compromise proposals.
He said: "It is clear that the circumstances exist to justify the use of Article 16.
"Nevertheless, we have concluded it is not the right moment to do so.
"Instead, we see an opportunity to proceed differently, to find a new path, to seek to agree with the EU through negotiations a new balance in our arrangements covering Northern Ireland to the benefit of all."
Under the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement signed in 2019, customs checks are placed on some goods crossing from Britain to Northern Ireland.
Brussels says the red tape is necessary to protect the EU single market.
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However, the UK says the mechanism places unacceptable disruption on the UK's internal market.
Retailers including Marks & Spencer have warned that the current arrangements mean some products will not be able to be sold in Northern Ireland.
Ministers are looking for a "standstill" period maintaining existing grace periods allowing the flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland while a permanent solution is negotiated.
At present customs checks will be required to be implemented on goods crossing the Irish Sea from the end of September.
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In the longer run, Lord Frost is hoping to convince Brussels to show greater flexibility in the implementation of customs checks, and also renegotiate the governance of overseeing the Protocol.
The UK is seeking to limit full customs and SPS processes should only be applied to goods "genuinely destined" for the EU.
Unionists have been left frustrated that checks have been required on goods travelling to Northern Ireland supermarkets which they say are unlikely to cross into the Republic of Ireland and therefore into the EU.
Ministers also want Brussels to "tolerate different standards" on goods in Northern Ireland to those in the EU.
Under the terms of the Protocol, Northern Ireland is effectively still in the single market and goods must comply with Brussels' regulations.
The UK's proposed changes would see the bloc accept the UK's regulations as being sufficiently rigorous that goods meeting Britain's rules could also circulate freely in the province.
Lord Frost said: "We urge the EU to look at it with fresh eyes and to work with us to seize this opportunity and to put our relationships onto a better footing.
"We stand ready to work with them to deliver the brighter future which is in reach."
Yesterday a representative of Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin promised the UK's proposals "would be carefully considered" by the EU.
Brussels has repeatedly rejected the UK's attempts to ease frictions caused by the Protocol and said the mechanism must be implemented in full.