last week saw the second meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, with both sides recognising the intensifying of technical discussions. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee’s report published last Tuesday, stated that businesses have been given little information about what they will have to do as a result of new processes and checks on Great Britain to Northern Ireland trade, with the recommendation that businesses needed to be given clear instructions no later than October.
It also warned that the Government’s apparent ‘limited understanding of how business works’ is leaving business ill prepared for the end of the transition period on 31 December.
Under the Protocol, NI will be part of the UK’s customs territory but will continue to follow EU customs law and regulations on goods in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. This has the potential to create significant trade disruption if EU and UK laws diverge.
Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Simon Hoare MP, said:
“Political process must not trump the interests of the people of Northern Ireland.
“The Government may be able to wait until the wire for clarity on customs arrangements, but business cannot. Those trading across the Irish Sea have been told to prepare without knowing what to prepare for. It’s now time for them to get that clarity, and they must have it by the 1 October.
“If not, business will not have time to prepare for the realistic prospect of friction and delays to products moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This will increase their costs, with an accompanying increase in the cost of living.”