Potato rules highlight the continued regulatory border between NI and Great Britain - Allister

The TUV leader has written to a House of Lords committee raising his concerns about Northern Ireland being classified as a ‘third country’ in UK regulations. This is in relation to rules on the movement of potatoes and other plants from Northern Ireland into the rest of the UK.

The regulations are aimed at controlling the spread of plant diseases in certain species of plants. Since the NI protocol – and subsequently the Windsor Framework – came into place, Northern Ireland has operated under the European Union’s regulatory system. These regulations reflect that reality in how the UK manages its own rules.

When the Windsor Framework was published the UK government said that products that were banned from Northern Ireland “such as seed potatoes, sausages, and British trees - will move again easily.” According to Jim Allister the new rules highlight the fact that goods going in the other direction are also affected by the post-Brexit deal – and that this could ultimately lead to checks in ports in Great Britain as well.

The North Antrim MLA’s letter to the Lords committee relates to the Official Controls (Plant Health) (Prior Notification) and Phytosanitary Conditions (Amendment) Regulations 2023. It says: “I write to express my dismay at the assault of the above Regulations on the integrity of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is clear from the regulations, as amplified by the Explanatory Memorandum, that Northern Ireland is classified as a ‘third country’ in respect of relevant potato imports to Great Britain. Whereas the assertion of a bio security threat to GB from NI produce is itself highly insulting, it is the constitutional classification of my part of the U.K. as a foreign or third country which is utterly repulsive and wholly unacceptable.”

These rules relate to plant health rather than customs checks or declarations, but any additional phytosanitary checks would have an impact on trade.

Jim Allister’s letter continues: “While the terminology and content deployed is the product of the outrageous Protocol arrangements which abandon Northern Ireland commerce to EU rule and alignment, to now see this manifestation of NI classified in U.K. law as a ‘third country’ is so gross as to require repudiation and rejection.

The regulations say they “extend to England and Wales, and Scotland” with Northern Ireland treated, by implication, as an EU member state.