Truss stands firm in face of EU trade war threat
Brussels making impasse worse, says Foreign Secretary as she prepares to make unilateral changes to the NI Protocol
LIZ TRUSS last night told Brussels its proposed solutions to the problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol would make the situation worse after EU leaders threatened a trade war.
The Foreign Secretary is preparing to announce that the UK will unilaterally change parts of the protocol – which defines post-brexit trading terms between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland – as early as next week.
Ministers are expected to point to the impasse over power-sharing in Northern Ireland in the wake of last week’s elections as proof that the protocol is unsustainable.
There were warnings from the Continent yesterday about potential economic consequences if the UK reneges on the promises it made in the 2019 Brexit withdrawal agreement.
But Ms Truss retorted last night: “The current EU proposals fail to properly address the real issues affecting Northern Ireland and in some cases would take us backward.
“Prices have risen, trade is being badly disrupted and the people of Northern Ireland are subject to different laws and taxes [from] those over the Irish Sea, which has left them without an executive and poses a threat to peace and stability.
“The answer cannot be more checks, paperwork and disruption. Our preference has always been for a negotiated solution but [we] will not shy away from taking action to stabilise the situation in ... if solutions cannot be found.”
She made the comments after Alexander De Croo, Belgium’s prime minister, raised the prospect of the Brexit trade deal being cancelled in retaliation, saying: “If that agreement would be revoked, then I would think that the whole system will be revoked. I would not see any other solution.” Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, warned: “We have found a good way for Northern Ireland and no one should unilaterally override the arrangement which we have agreed together.”
Maros Sefcovic, a European Commission vice-president overseeing protocol discussions, called for engagement from the UK ahead of a last-ditch call with Ms Truss tomorrow.
Mr Sefcovic said in a statement: “We want to finalise these solutions as quickly as possible. But to do this, we need the UK government to show the same level of determination and creativity.”
Brussels could retaliate if the UK rips up the protocol by beginning legal action and starting dispute proceedings that could result in trade tariffs or the cancellation of the free trade agreement. Should the stand-off develop into a trade war it could exacerbate the cost of living crisis.
Boris Johnson used yesterday’s speech to say that helping families with the cost of living crunch and growing the economy were his “priority”. The
‘My government’s priority is to grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families’
first line read: “My government’s priority is to grow and strengthen the economy and help ease the cost of living for families.”
But the Prime Minister added there were limits to what he could do, saying: “No country is immune and no government can realistically shield everyone from the impact.”
Among the 38 Bills announced, was a planning reform to allow neighbours to hold “street votes” on extensions and conversions, encouraging homeowners to add value to their property. While a raid on housing developers’ profits will fund schools, roads and GP surgeries.
However, there were no new measures to offer immediate help with living costs, prompting criticism from think tanks of all political leanings, opposition parties and Mr Johnson’s own MPS.
David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, said: “A Queen’s Speech is built on sand if it’s not underpinned by strong economic foundations. Taxes today are too high. We need to get some fundamentals right. High taxes don’t deliver growth, they stifle it.”
Robert Jenrick, the former housing secretary, said it was “clear that taxes on working people were too high.
Theresa May, the previous prime minister, also raised concerns about the cost of living, as she insisted: “It’s a time like this that the Conservative principles of sound public finances and competent economic management are needed more than ever.”
Downing Street and the Treasury also rejected calls for an emergency budget, meaning no further tax cuts are expected before the autumn.
There was no bill to address the Northern Ireland Protocol in the Queen’s Speech, much to the ire of unionists in the Province.
However, it stated: “The continued success and integrity of the whole of the United Kingdom is of paramount importance to my government, including the internal economic bonds between all of its parts.”
Ms Truss’s criticisms of the EU’S proposals for solving problems surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol are the latest public sign that the Government could be close to taking unilateral action to override the agreement, and the Prime Minister used a call with Micheal Martin, the Irish Taoiseach, on Monday evening to tell him that issues over the protocol were “very serious”.
In Thursday’s Northern Irish elections, Sinn Fein – which wants a united Ireland – became the largest party in Stormont for the first time since the executive was created in 1998.
The DUP, the unionist grouping replaced as the biggest party, has refused to enter power-sharing at Stormont unless Downing Street takes action to change the protocol which has created a customs border in the Irish sea, to ensure there was no hard border on the island of Ireland.
Opponents of the agreement point to the fact that it requires checks on goods travelling within the UK, even if they are not bound for the EU, while Brussels counters that Mr Johnson himself agreed the deal in 2019.
In October, the European Commission made a series of offers it said would dramatically reduce protocol checks in return for bolstered market surveillance to ensure British goods were not entering Ireland, an EU member, but progress has been slow.
Justifying Ms Truss’s rhetoric, a Foreign Office source claimed some of the EU proposals – such as checks on chilled meat imports – would result in even more border red tape than under the present agreement.
A team of British diplomats was last night travelling to Washington to debrief their US counterparts on the fraught situation.
Joe Biden, the US president, has warned the UK against unilateral action.
Mrs May also issued a warning yesterday, saying unilateral action would not be the “right move”.
Downing Street insiders insist no final decision has been taken on whether to publish proposals for a law overriding parts of the protocol but admit it could come soon.
One senior government source familiar with developments said: “There is a big gap here. It looks like we are going to have to do something but no one wants to.”