Bring in penalties to deter exports from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland which evade EU standards

A letter from Dr DR Cooper:
By Letters
Published 28th Jul 2021, 19:42 BST
Updated 28th Jul 2021, 19:45 BST
Use a new UK law to underpin a system of export licences to regulate the carriage of goods out of Northern Ireland into the Irish RepublicUse a new UK law to underpin a system of export licences to regulate the carriage of goods out of Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic
Use a new UK law to underpin a system of export licences to regulate the carriage of goods out of Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic

A lot has been said about the UK government’s proposals for revision of the Irish protocol, and on the kneejerk negative reaction, but there has been little comment on associated proposals which do not even need the agreement of the EU and the Irish Republic.

If the UK government is content to announce that “We also stand ready to bring in new legislation to deter anyone in Northern Ireland looking to export to Ireland goods which do not meet EU standards or to evade these enforcement processes” (paragraph 43) and “We are also ready to put in place legislation to provide for penalties for UK traders seeking to place non-compliant goods on the EU market” (paragraph 62), then why not just go ahead and do that?

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And then use that new UK law to underpin a system of export licences to regulate the carriage of goods out of Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

It may seem counter-intuitive to add to the burden of bureaucracy by introducing export licences, but they would only be needed by the relatively few individuals and companies who actually export goods across the land border — that trickle of goods which allegedly pose a deadly threat to the integrity of the huge EU single market — and once in place they would make redundant the present crazy system of EU checks and controls on all goods imported into Northern Ireland.

Dr DR Cooper, Maidenhead, Berkshire

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Related topics:Republic of IrelandNorthern IrelandBen Lowry