The UK will not introduce any new checks or controls on goods moving across the land border into Northern Ireland if the UK leaves the European Union without a deal, it has been announced.
Under a temporary and unilateral regime announced by the British government, EU goods arriving from the Republic and remaining in Northern Ireland will not be subject to tariffs.
However, tariffs will be payable on goods moving from the EU into the rest of the UK via Northern Ireland under a schedule of rates also released this morning.
The British government insists that this will not create a border down the Irish Sea, as there will be no checks on goods moving between Northern Ireland and Britain.
Instead, normal compliance and intelligence methods will be used to detect any traders attempting to abuse the system.
MPs accepted that the new regime will cause “concerns” to Northern Irish businesses and farmers about the impact on their competitiveness.
But they said these were the only steps that could be taken to deliver on the Government’s commitment to avoiding a hard border in the case of no deal.
MPs said that, overall, the changes would represent a “modest liberalisation” of the UK’s tariff regime.
Article Source: http://tinyurl.com/kbwqb42
