- The UK will introduce legislation on Monday
- Moving the risks of triggering a trade war with the EU
- The EU says unilateral action will violate international law
LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) – The United Kingdom will set plans on Monday to overturn some of the post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, changes that will increase tensions with the European Union but which Prime Minister Boris called mere “bureaucratic simplifications.” Johnson.
The United Kingdom has been threatening for months to break the Northern Ireland Protocol, an agreement for the British region reached by the Johnson administration to secure a Brexit divorce and a wider trade deal between Brussels. and London.
As part of the agreement, Northern Ireland effectively remained in the EU’s single market for goods to preserve an open border with EU member Ireland, which was key to a 1998 peace agreement.
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But this required customs controls on goods being moved from Britain to Northern Ireland, which pro-British communities in Northern Ireland say are eroding their place in the UK.
Johnson wanted to minimize the impact of the new legislation, which his foreign minister, Liz Truss, will present to parliament later Monday. He said any talk of a trade war of retaliation would be a “gross and gross overreaction.”
“It’s a bureaucratic change that needs to be made. Frankly, it’s a relatively trivial set of adjustments,” Johnson told LBC radio, again challenging critics who say the law will violate international law.
“All we are trying to do is make some bureaucratic simplifications between Britain and Northern Ireland.”
Truss urged European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic to allow changes to the protocol, and reiterated London’s position that it does want a “negotiated solution”. Read more
Legislation, like Brexit itself, has divided legal and political opinion in the UK, with supporters of the UK divorce saying it is not going far enough and critics say it undermines London by challenging an international agreement.
Ireland warned the plan would be “deeply damaging” and a “low point” in London’s approach to Brexit. Sefcovic said unilateral action would damage confidence. Read more
FUSE VOLTAGES
Tensions over the protocol have been raging for months between London and Brussels, and British ministers have accused the EU of imposing rules that have threatened political stability in Northern Ireland.
Critics of the London plan, including representatives of the province’s dairy, manufacturing and logistics industries, say its unilateral action will hurt business.
Brussels believes that any unilateral change could violate international law and could respond with legal action and the imposition of tariffs, a risk at a time when British inflation reaches 10% and the economy is shrinking. Read more
It is expected to propose a “green channel” for goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland, removing rules that prevent the province from benefiting from tax aid and ending the role of the Court of Justice. EU as sole arbitrator.
The plan will be a test of Johnson’s authority after four out of 10 lawmakers opposed it in a vote of confidence last week.
It is also likely to cause alarm in Washington. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said there will be no trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom if London rules out the protocol.
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Additional report by Paul Sandle, Andrew MacAskill and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter and Ed Osmond
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