Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“I am disappointed that the Minister for the Economy has declined to enthusiastically embrace my call for an InterTradeUK body to be created. In a response to my letter, she has merely said that she will explore if existing funding from Westminster to mitigate the consequences of the protocol would best be channelled through such a body.
“As I made clear in my letter to the Minister, I envisage IntertradeUK securing a separate stream of funding in order to facilitate and encourage trade with the rest of our country. Far from doing this Mrs Dodds talks about her work with InterTradeIreland in the lead up to the end of the transition period. InterTradeIreland, of course, has an its express purpose the promotion of trade on the island of Ireland!
“As we already see products produced in Great Britain disappear from supermarket shelves and read reports of lorries and drives held up for hours at our ports the case for a body with the goal of facilitating and promoting trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of our nation is unanswerable.
“I hope that Minister Dodds will look again at the matter, particularly in light of her comments about the concerns she has around the impact of the protocol on trade with our biggest market which is after all the rest of our country.
“In 2018 IntertradeIreland has a workforce of 44.
“The remuneration for senior management staff was over £277,000.
“It had a total income of over £12.2 million.
“Given the dire position in which trade to and from Great Britain now finds itself and the very real, hard border which is being constructed at our ports the case for a similar body with financial clout is to my mind unanswerable and it is something all Unionists should be united in campaigning for.”