Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Courtesy of the Protocol steel producers in Great Britain are now having to pay a 25% tariff for selling key construction products to Northern Ireland because the EU quota for global imports has been exhausted. This will drastically affect the whole construction industry with knock-on detriment to the whole economy. The case for scrapping the Protocol has never been stronger.
“It’s preposterous that U.K. producers face such a barrier when selling goods within their own country. It also graphically illustrates how under the Protocol GB is treated as a foreign country in trading terms.
“Whereas ultimately the Protocol Bill could, if fully implemented, rectify this situation, our economy is not in a position to wait. Article 16 should be used immediately to address this situation.
“It is also worth noting for anti-unionist devotees of the EU and their single transferable speech that the return of Stormont could do nothing to address this issue. The Protocol is having a real impact in terms of driving up the cost of living and doing irreplaceable damage to the internal market of the United Kingdom. It is high time for those who demanded its “rigorous implementation” to face up to the mess they have created.
“There should be no question of any Unionist even considering giving up its Stormont leverage until the intolerable burden of the Protocol is removed. That can only happen with the complete abolition of the Protocol and the restoration of Northern Ireland as a full and equal part of the U.K.”