No end in sight over debate on checks for food ‘imports’ to Northern Ireland

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While Northern Ireland remains de jure a part of the UK, its economy has become ever more enmeshed to Ireland – and by extension the EU – since the Northern Ireland protocol came into force just over a year ago.

That controversial deal, which ensured NI’s exit from the EU was in name only when it came to goods, has proven to be a bone of contention ever since it was negotiated and signed off by the UK government.

And the complex legalities of Northern Ireland’s status could be further tested next month after a Belfast High Court ruling on Friday overturned a provocative announcement by NI agriculture minister Edwin Poots last Wednesday – which ordered that checks on food imports from Great Britain must be stopped.

If they can be described as ‘imports’, that is. Arguably, if Northern Ireland is part of the UK, a crate of Somerset cheese is no more imported to Belfast than it is to Cardiff or Liverpool or Glasgow – and therefore should not be subject to any border-style checks.

Such is the view of Poots’ Democratic Unionist Party, which, with one eye on elections in May, has put the issue of the checks on food – and by extension Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit constitutional status – right on the table.

After weeks of posturing on the issue, Poots initially ordered a halt on checks last Wednesday, claiming he had received legal advice that they should be ditched on the basis they did not have “executive approval”.

The announcement sparked immediate controversy, and some confusion. Sinn Fein, with whom Poots’ DUP party shares power, dismissed the move as a “stunt”. In a tweet on Wednesday, deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill accused the DUP of attempting to “unlawfully interfere with domestic and international law”.

The European Commission and Irish government also described the move as “a breach of international law”.

But there were mixed messages from Westminster. While Defra minister George Eustice eventually confirmed the checks would continue, other UK government officials, including Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, said they were a matter for Northern Ireland’s devolved government, or executive.

The high court ruling in Belfast has done little to clear things up, simply stating that the checks should continue pending the outcome of at least two judicial reviews of Poots’ directive, set to take place next month.

In the meantime, Poots’ DUP colleague Paul Givan has resigned as Northern Ireland’s first minister, essentially collapsing the NI Executive. And Poots has reportedly warned the DUP won’t allow Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government to be revived unless the EU abandons its requirement for checks on ‘imports’ from Great Britain.

Such political wrangling has left food businesses in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland facing further uncertainty over the future of trade via the Irish Sea.

The Ulster Farmers’ Union, which counts many DUP supporters in its ranks, would not comment as it was “seeking clarity” about the situation after both the minister’s announcement and the court response.

The NI Food and Drink Association, meanwhile, has advised businesses to “continue to complete all paperwork and comply with relevant legislation”, pointing out that even if checks were reduced, the law has not changed.

What happens next is anyone’s guess, but with no prospect of the situation being resolved soon, the Northern Irish food sector, like its politics, looks set for further turmoil.