The UK and EU have agreed a deal “in principle” on the Northern Ireland protocol.
The agreement paves the way for a series of solutions on issues such as the movement of food from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, exit summary declarations for food from Northern Ireland into Great Britain, and which British goods will be considered ‘at risk’ of crossing the border into the Republic of Ireland and therefore attracting a tariff if there is no trade deal.
The details of the deal are expected to be laid before Parliament on Wednesday, but the UK confirmed it would be withdrawing all clauses from the internal market bill that breached the Withdrawal Agreement.
The move comes ahead of a meeting between Boris Johnson and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later this week to try and strike a trade deal. Some of the trickiest issues are expected to be resolved by a deal, particularly the question of which goods are considered ‘at risk’.
Aodhán Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said the announcement was “very welcome and is hugely positive. However, business in Northern Ireland will need the technical detail of these solutions as soon as possible.
“We still need the conclusion of a free trade agreement to remove customs frictions and with three weeks left to go we still will need an implementation period to allow us to comply with the new requirements. While this is a positive step there is still much to do in little time.”
FDF CEO Ian Wright expressed frustration this morning that so little time was left for businesses to prepare. “I have to say, the Northern Ireland protocol is a complete shambles, and the idea that you can prepare for as big a change that is going to happen is ridiculous,” he told the Commons business committee.
About 40% of FDF members intend to stop or reduce supplies to Northern Ireland during the first three months of next year, according to a recent survey. Wright noted that the Welsh government has only recently announced traffic-management plans for Holyhead. “I don’t want to be trivial, but it’s too late baby… It’s really too late. All of these arrangements are just too late for people to prepare.”
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