Letter: ​EU checks and controls are being applied to the wrong flow of goods

With regard to the recent story on the Northern Ireland protocol (Northern Ireland Protocol: Haulier says House of Lords report confirms Windsor Framework leaves him far worse off, July 28, see link below):

I presume that a haulier like Target Transport not only brings goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, but also takes goods over the border into the Irish Republic.

The first is movement of goods within the UK and should require no special formalities, while the second should require the haulier to be a "licensed exporter" to the EU.

As the export licence would only be granted on the basis that all goods destined for the Republic must comply with EU standards a "mixed load" would not be a problem.

Having been identified as a haulier who was trusted to respect EU requirements the truck could come straight in and then afterwards the load could be split as necessary.

Moreover, goods produced within the province and certified as meeting EU standards could be added to make up an incomplete load before the truck crossed the border

All these problems arise simply because the EU checks and controls to protect the EU Single Market are being applied to the wrong flow of goods, and deliberately so.

As I wrote, on March 22, 2022, in a letter to this newspaper: "If it was just a question of protecting the EU Single Market from non-compliant goods being carried across the land border, then it would be sufficient to apply EU checks and controls only on those exported goods, not on all the imported goods and all the locally produced goods."

Dr DR Cooper, Maidenhead

Haulier says report confirms Windsor Framework leaves him 'far worse off'

Letter: Real aim of protocol is to fuse Northern Ireland with the RoI