Any chaos will be in Kent ( and other UK lorry parks )

The UK Government  narrative is clear. If there's friction exporting to the EU and it's "all a bit slipshod and disorganised and there's therefore chaos because of failure of the EU to plan" then HMG is going to blame the direct consequences of leaving the Customs Union and Single Market on the EU. We've left the EU and at the end of the year we exit the Withdrawal Agreement's Transition Period that's been in place since the 1st of Feb. During the Transition Period we continued to be in the Customs Union and Single Market although no longer an EU member. That's what's kept our imports and exports flowing freely since then. It means we're yet to feel the practical effects of Brexit. Next year the EU will continue to exist and operate its Customs Union and Single Market. With or without an FTA, as we'll be outside the Customs Union and Single Market and a third country, all our exports to the EU will be subject to checks at the border. Wh
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The Irish Sea Border and the UK Internal Market - North South meets East West again?

 It's interesting to ponder how the UK Governments provisions for the Irish Sea Border and its desire to ensure a uniform internal (*) market (oh! the irony) in the UK will interact.

(*) obviously politics means this won't be called a single market.

The UK Government has recently published a policy paper titled "Moving goods under the Northern Ireland Protocol: Introduction" and in the overview they state:

1. Overview

The guidance outlines that, under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK Government will ensure that:

    1. Moving goods from Northern Ireland to Great Britain should take place as it does now – there will be no additional process, paperwork, or restrictions on Northern Ireland goods moving to Great Britain, delivering unfettered access.
    2. Changes for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an absolute minimum - with a new Trader Support Service, available to all traders at no cost, to be established to provide wraparound support, alongside guidance on the processes for food and agricultural products designed to uphold the longstanding status of the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological unit.
    3. Trade in goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and between Northern Ireland and EU Member States, will continue unaffected, with no change at the border, no new paperwork, and no tariffs or regulatory checks.
    4. For trade with the rest of the world, Northern Ireland will benefit from UK FTAs – ensuring the benefits of those agreements are felt right across the United Kingdom.

The paper goes on to expand on moving goods from Northern Ireland and says:

2. Northern Ireland to Great Britain

The UK Government will guarantee in legislation unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the rest of the UK internal market from 31 December 2020, ensuring that trade from Northern Ireland to Great Britain continues as it does now. That will mean no declarations, tariffs, new regulatory checks or customs checks, or additional approvals for goods from Northern Ireland businesses to be placed on the UK market. Those goods will be able to be placed on the market in Scotland, Wales and England, whether certified against EU or UK rules.

This special treatment will be available only to Northern Ireland businesses (including businesses headquartered in Great Britain with operations in Northern Ireland).

The UK Government is proposing to allow only companies in Northern Ireland to manufacture to EU and/or UK standards and certifications and sell those products in the rest of the UK.

The UK Government is also pushing on with its plans for the UK internal market. The Forward starts with no sense of irony:

For centuries, the UK’s Internal Market has been the bedrock of our shared prosperity, with people, products, ideas and investment moving seamlessly between our nations. As a Union, we are greater than the sum of our parts. 

The Forward goes on to say:

By enshrining the principle of mutual recognition into law, our proposals will ensure regulations from one part of the UK are recognised across the country. The principle of non-discrimination will support companies trading in the UK, regardless of where in the UK they are based.

This is all fine while UK and EU standards are the same as they currently are. They'll remain so until the end of the Transition Period and then until when/if the UK changes some.

What happens if UK standards diverge from EU ones?

If a UK standard drops below the requirements of the comparable EU standard it won't be possible to sell the goods to which the standard applies in Northern Ireland so the internal market starts to diverge.

Conversely, if a UK standard rises above the comparable EU standard the UK goods manufactured to that standard may well be uneconomic to sell in Northern Ireland against EU standard goods. Plus, the UK certified goods will still need to be EU certified to sell in Northern Ireland.

Interesting times!

 

 

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