More detail needed on NI Protocol

An agreement in principle between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) was reached on Tuesday, 8 December on specific trade arrangements for NI, including post-Brexit border checks and trading rules for NI.

The move has been welcomed by the UFU, but they say more detail is urgently needed.

UFU president Victor Chestnutt said: “There is currently a huge amount of uncertainty and very limited time as we approach the end of the transition period.

“ It is positive news that an agreement in principle which addresses controls in relation to the Irish Sea border, has finally been reached but we still require urgent clarification on many related issues which are already starting to emerge.

“From 1 January following the end of the transition period, under the NI Protocol NI will remain in the EU single market for goods and therefore its regulatory regime but the rest of the UK will no longer be part of it.

“Regardless of the outcome of the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU, this will not change. We have already raised several issues directly with the NI Secretary of State which need to be clarified very quickly.

“The NI Protocol agreement addresses regulatory controls, but we need to build on this momentum. We need continued progress and a positive outcome on the UK/EU free trade agreement to ensure that we have as free and frictionless trade as possible.

“This will not only avoid the possibility of tariffs/customs being introduced and the huge additional complications and market distortions that would entail, but will also potentially simplify the regulatory controls that are to be implemented under the NI Protocol.”

DUP MP Carla Lockhart has urged the Government to outline the detail of their agreement on the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, and how it will impact on our agri-food sector here in Northern Ireland.

The MP met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , Rt. Hon. Brandon Lewis MP, on Wednesday to press for clarity.

Carla Lockhart said:“What we have at the moment is headlines and Government spin. What we need, and what businesses and those in our agri-foods industry need, is clarity on a range of issues that as yet we have no answers on.

“We remain concerned by those elements of this ‘in principle agreement’ that are characterised by grace periods and time-limited derogations, and in particular we will want to continue to lobby the Government to ensure that at the end of the six month period Northern Ireland will not be required to switch suppliers away from GB for chilled meats.

“We cannot accept a situation whereby restrictions are placed on the movement of these products to any part of the United Kingdom, in this case Northern Ireland.

“Today (Thursday) I raised these concerns in the House of Commons with the Cabinet Office’s Rt. Hon. Penny Mourdant MP.

“I stressed how important it was that after the grace period ends, that the UK will act unilaterally in the interests of Northern Ireland if needs be,” said the MP.

“In the coming days we are continuing to actively engage with the Government on all these issues to ensure the best possible outcome for our agri-food sector and indeed all of Northern Ireland.”