Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister:
“Yesterday in the House of Commons, I took the opportunity to press the Minister for Business and Trade, Douglas Alexander, on the status of Northern Ireland in relation to the UK’s trade deal with India.
“I put it to the Minister that the entirety of the United Kingdom will not benefit from this deal, as the UK does not control trade laws for Northern Ireland. Owing to the Protocol, Northern Ireland remains subject to EU trade law. Consequently, imports from India into Northern Ireland will be subject not to the UK’s agreed tariff, but to whatever EU tariff is in force — thereby denying Northern Ireland’s consumers the full benefits of the deal.
“While I received little in the way of solutions from the Minister, he did confirm that the situation is “exactly” as I described it.
“Regrettably, no other Northern Ireland MP raised this critical issue, which starkly illustrates our semi-detached position within the United Kingdom and how we alone are being denied the opportunities that Brexit presents to the rest of the nation.”
My exchange with the Minister yesterday (Tuesday) is as follows:
Jim Allister:
How can the Government make a trade deal for the whole of the United Kingdom if they do not control the trade laws for the whole of the United Kingdom? Northern Ireland is still under the control of EU trade laws. To give a practical illustration of the problem, under the UK-India trade deal any imports to Northern Ireland from India—I speak of imports, not exports—will be subject not to any agreed UK tariff but to whatever prevailing EU tariff there is on those goods, and the EU does not have a trade deal with India. Is this not another illustration of how Northern Ireland has been left behind by a protocol that has left us still in the EU?
Douglas Alexander, Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade):
The Northern Ireland’s trading relationships and its status within the United Kingdom are not altered as a consequence of the Indian free trade agreement that was reached today. The established position is exactly as the right hon. Member describes and recognises the distinctive history and significance of the Good Friday agreement—not just in the protocol but the Windsor framework. A huge amount of work has been put in by both sides of the House to try to maintain a hard-won peace in Northern Ireland, and that is not compromised by today’s agreement.