DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says legislation to end checks is coming 'in next few weeks'

The DUP leader was speaking to the News Letter from Washington, where local politicians are lobbying US policy makers during the annual St Patrick’s Day events.

Sir Jeffrey laid out a timescale for some of the outstanding elements of the Safeguarding the Union deal struck between the DUP and the government – and said legislation to remove checks is coming forward shortly.

In February – government officials told parliament that a Windsor Framework rule requiring 5% checks is a “fundamental underpinning” of the trade arrangements.

Asked how much more legislation the DUP is expecting from the UK government, Sir Jeffrey told the News Letter: “There is more to come.

“And we will see soon further legislation being tabled in parliament, which will give the government the powers they need to direct our local authorities to end the checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and staying within the UK.

"That legislation is coming shortly – and will empower the government to remove the green lane checks and to ensure that goods move freely between Great Britain and Northern Ireland where they are staying within the UK.

"We’re also going to see the first meeting of the UK East-West council on the 26th June in Northern Ireland. There will be more at that meeting about the new InterTrade UK body that has been established.

"There are other elements of the package that will come forward in the next few weeks.

"We are making progress with implementation – there is still more to do. And we are working hard on this at Westminster to ensure that the government honours their commitments and delivers on what is needed to restore Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market”.

Asked if the legislation would come forward in the next few weeks, Sir Jeffrey confirmed that it would.

With regard to how attractive Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements are to investors in America, Sir Jeffrey said: “People recognise that with Northern Ireland’s position having both unfettered access to the UK internal market and access to the EU single market that there is an opportunity for American businesses that want to trade in both markets to establish a presence in Northern Ireland. There is interest in that. It builds upon the fact that America is our biggest foreign direct investor and that has been consistently the case, including in the last decade.

"We are hopeful that we will see more of that type of investment – and that people see an economic and a trading environment that could be advantageous to them”.

He said the trading position is “part of the pitch” to investors, but there are many other aspects to it.

“We’ve got Invest NI out here, obviously they have packages that are aimed at supporting businesses coming into NI, creating employment opportunities. It is part of a broad package of measures, that are attractive to businesses which is why we have been successful in the past attracting American businesses to Northern Ireland. I think with the added layer of our trading arrangements within the UK and also with the EU single market – there is no doubt that is promoting additional interest”.

Separately, the News Letter had asked the Northern Ireland Office earlier this week if the government intends to bring any further legislation to fulfil its commitments under the Safeguarding the Union deal and what the timescale for that is. The newspaper also asked the government if and when it intended to legislate on its commitment that "there will be no checks when goods move within the UK internal market system”. We have not received any response.

Government officials said in February that a rule obligating 5% sea border checks is a “fundamental underpinning” and won't be removed. The Windsor Framework regulation commits UK authorities to perform identity checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain. The removal of that law would require EU permission and it is unclear if that is attainable.

Critics of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had been questioning where the promised legislation was – and will undoubtedly pay close attention to what it achieves when it arrives.