The Northern Ireland Protocol has led to checks on some goods entering NI from the rest of the UK
(Picture: Niall Carson/PA)The White House has warned newly appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss against dismantling the Northern Ireland Protocol.
US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Truss discussed “the importance of reaching a negotiated agreement with the European Union” in their first conversation since Truss’s appointment.
When asked about the conversation between the leaders, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said: “There’s no formal linkage on trade talks between the US and the UK and the Northern Ireland protocol, as we have said, but efforts to undo the Northern Ireland protocol would not create a conducive environment, and that’s basically where we are in the dialogue.”
But what is the Northern Ireland Protocol and why is Biden urging Truss against creating a harsh Irish border?
What is the Northern Ireland Protocol?
The contentious NI protocol is part of the 2019 Brexit Treaty, which avoids the need for a hard border with Ireland by creating a trade and regulatory border in the Irish Sea.
It gives a special status to NI, as part of both the EU single market and the UK internal market.
But to protect the EU single market in Ireland, it introduced checks on some goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and gives judicial oversight to the European Court of Justice – both of which are deeply unpopular with hard-line Brexiters and the Democratic Unionists who fear it undermines links between the region and the rest of the UK.
Why did the Government publish a new bill to give it the power to override parts of the protocol?
Announcing the plans to introduce the bill on May 17, Truss, then Foreign Secretary, said the Protocol wasn’t working because it was undermining the Good Friday Agreement – the 1998 peace deal that ended decades of sectarian violence in the region.
She highlighted how EU customs procedures were creating costly frictions for business in NI, with some firms ceasing trade with Britain. She also said EU tax rules mean NI citizens cannot benefit from the same advantages as the rest of the UK, for example on VAT reductions on solar panels announced by Rishi Sunak earlier this year. Meanwhile “onerous” restrictions such as veterinary checks were making life much more difficult for food producers.
“These practical problems have contributed to the sense that the East-West relationship has been undermined,” Ms Truss said at the time.
What will the bill do?
Primarily it will remove customs checks and physical checks on goods that are only going to NI and not into the Republic of Ireland.
Instead goods from GB destined to remain in NI will go through a “green lane” with no checks while those being moved on to the EU single market in the Republic will go through a red lane and face checks.
But the bill will also look to limit the judicial oversight of the European Court of Justice – a long held bone of contention for arch Brexiters. Instead the bill would give British courts the final say on any trade disputes although there could still be a limited role for the ECJ.
The new legislation will also end EU control over state aid and VAT.
However the FT reported that the bill also contains a sweeping “Clause 15” which would give ministers a reserve power to rip up other aspects of the protocol if it was felt they were causing political or economic disruption in Northern Ireland.
How has the bill gone down with Tory MPs?
There were reports of divisions between Mr Johnson, Ms Truss, Rishi Sunak, and Michael Gove, who pushed for then primer minister Mr Johnson to water down some of the measures in the bill. It has been claimed it was subsequently hardened up after Mr Johnson met members of the pro-hard Brexit European Research Group of Tory MPs – particularly on the role of the ECJ.
But this will create difficulties with One Nation Tories who are already concerned that the bill will break international law. A memo circulating among more centrist Tory MPs has concluded that the legislation will break international law.
Even if it manages to scrape through the Commons, the bill is set to face fierce opposition in the House of Lords and it could take a year for the legislation to be passed, suggesting the move is more of a negotiating tactic with the EU.
Will it break international law?
Former Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis insisted that the bill would be “lawful” but many Conservative and opposition MPs fear it will breach the UK’s obligations under the 2019 Brexit Treaty.
Opposition MPs want the government to publish the full advice but Mr Lewis said only that a summary would be made public.
Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Peter Kyle, said it is “incumbent on ministers” to release the maximum possible legal advice, with “transparency about its origins”.
“This bill could have an elevated impact on Britain’s relationship with global partners, and has potential for malicious and rogue governments to interpret it as a green light for unilateral action against international treaties to which they are bound,” he said.
There is still some hope that EU will now negotiate a new deal to avert UK ministers having to use the legislation. But if it doesn’t then it raises the prospect of a trade war with the EU.
Will it restore the Stormont Assembly?
At the moment, NI Assembly is not functioning because the DUP – which wants the Protocol scrapped - has refused nominate a speaker following the May 5 elections, which saw Republican Sinn Fein become the biggest party at Stormont.
Although Sinn Fein supports the Protocol and a majority of the Assembly now backs it, the DUP’s position has left NI in political paralysis.
Mr Lewis said he hoped the bill would convince the DUP to return to power-sharing, easing tensions in the region.
“If the DUP are true to what they have said and the reason they withdrew around wanting to see positive progress on fixing the problems of the protocol, this legislation will do that,” Mr Lewis told the BBC.
But the DUP has said it is too soon to make a judgement.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Protocol was working. “What the Tory government is proposing to do in breaching international law is to create huge, huge damage to the northern economy, to the Irish economy,” she told Sky News.
