UK risks EU trade war as Northern Ireland protocol bill is published
Liz Truss risked a trade war with the EU and accusations of lawbreaking as she published legislation that would allow exports from Britain to Northern Ireland to follow either UK or EU standards and checks.
Publishing the Northern Ireland protocol bill, Truss said the legislation would “fix” issues with the post-Brexit protocol by easing checks for firms selling goods from Britain destined for Northern Ireland rather than the EU. It would also scrap the European court of justice as the arbiter of trade disputes and move to an independent mechanism.
However, the EU, legal experts and even some Conservative MPs have warned that the move is illegal under international law as it gives ministers the powers to disapply parts of the protocol unilaterally, without the agreement of Brussels.
One of the biggest changes would be the introduction of a choice for British firms exporting to Northern Ireland between meeting EU or UK standards on regulation, which are expected to increasingly diverge. It would also allow the creation of a green lane allowing fewer customs checks for goods destined for Northern Ireland and a red lane with existing checks for goods destined for EU countries.
Two further measures included bringing Northern Ireland’s tax break and spending policies into line with the rest of the UK and changing oversight of trade disputes so that they are resolved by independent arbitration rather than the European court of justice.
The legislation will encounter serious opposition in both the House of Commons and Lords, with doubts over whether Boris Johnson has support for it to pass. The bill has some critics on the Eurosceptic right, including Northern Ireland’s DUP, as well as some on the one nation centrist wing of the
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