Duty Relief Exemption: Small Parcels
Debate between Lord Livermore and Baroness Hoey(1 week, 2 days ago)
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Baroness Hoey
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the new tax on small parcels entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain as a result of the EU’s change to the duty relief exemption.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Livermore)
My Lords, the Government are committed to the smooth flow of goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. The Government are aware of the EU’s plans to remove its relief for low-value imports from 1 July 2026. The facilitations under the Windsor Framework are unaffected by this change, meaning that goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland can continue to move under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme without the need to pay duty.
Baroness Hoey (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that. Responding recently to two questions from me and the noble Lord, Lord Empey, he said that we would continue to engage with the EU. Now that the regulations have been published just two weeks ago—written in the normal EU way that is quite difficult to understand, but I am sure the Minister does—can he clarify for us whether the new rules will operate subject to EU regulation 2023/1128 such that any trusted trader on the UK Internal Market Scheme need not pay any duty? Can he also clarify whether the duty will be paid by the person sending the parcel in GB, the person receiving the parcel in Northern Ireland or both? Does he agree that we need detailed clarification on this? People are very worried about it—maybe wrongly, maybe rightly. Will the Minister make sure that there is clarification on exactly how this is going to work and how it will affect people in Great Britain sending parcels to their relatives in Northern Ireland?
Lord Livermore (Lab)
Yes, I can give the noble Baroness the clarification she seeks. The answer to the first question she asked is yes. As I said in my opening Answer, in May last year the Government introduced important new arrangements for freight and parcel movements to ensure that goods can continue to move smoothly from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. These facilitations under the Windsor Framework are unaffected by the EU’s change to its duty relief exemption. Goods travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland can continue to move under the UK Carrier Scheme and the UK Internal Market Scheme without the need to pay duty.
Rules on Duty-Free Goods
Debate between Lord Livermore and Baroness Hoey(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Hoey
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the same rules on duty-free goods apply for those flying from Belfast to the European Union as those flying from the rest of the United Kingdom.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Livermore) (Lab)
My Lords, duty-free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU would require the application of personal allowances and associated border checks to prevent the uncontrolled flow of tax-free goods into either Northern Ireland or the EU. The enforcement controls required for this would run counter to the Windsor Framework and to the principle of the frictionless movement of people and goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Baroness Hoey (Non-Afl)
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that rather predictable Answer. Could I press him? Does he understand the frustration and anger that families in Northern Ireland have when they travel on their well-earned holidays to sunny parts of the EU and cannot get duty-free, while other citizens of the rest of the United Kingdom can? Does he understand that not having duty-free is costing Northern Ireland’s small airports about £5 million a year? Does he have any sympathy or empathy with the people of Northern Ireland? Will he make a commitment that when His Majesty’s Government are involved in the much-heralded reset, this will be one of the issues—it may seem a minor issue to some people, but it is quite an important one—to be negotiated with the European Union to change?
Lord Livermore (Lab)
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. She says that my Answer was predictable, but one thing that was entirely predictable was the impact of Brexit, which she campaigned for. Back in 2016, Sir John Major and Sir Tony Blair said clearly that Brexit would present specific challenges for Northern Ireland, given its land border with an EU member state and the importance of safeguarding the Good Friday agreement, yet the noble Baroness dismissed those concerns. Now that the reality of Brexit does not match up to the fantasy version which the noble Baroness had, she seeks to blame others for the consequences of her own actions.
Let me be very clear: the Windsor Framework is the best workable solution to Northern Ireland’s unique circumstance. The noble Baroness asked whether I have empathy—absolutely I do. Placing Northern Ireland in a uniquely beneficial position within the United Kingdom, by being part of the UK internal market and the EU single market for goods, provides significant opportunities for growth and ensures that there is no hard border on the island of Ireland. She mentioned the reset. As part of the EU reset, the EU and the UK have agreed to negotiate an SPS agreement. I urge the noble Baroness to support that reset.
Exports to the European Union
Debate between Lord Livermore and Baroness Hoey(1 year, 3 months ago)
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Lord Livermore (Lab)
The noble Lord is absolutely correct. As I mentioned a short while ago, in the spring the Government will publish a trade strategy to help reset our relationship with the EU, and a key part of it will be providing more support to small businesses to help them export and particularly to remove some of the barriers that they face to trade with the European Union.
Baroness Hoey (Non-Afl)
My Lords, in any renewing of relationships with the European Union, does the Minister agree that top of that list should be to get back control of our own country—in other words getting Northern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom and getting rid of the Windsor Framework?
Lord Livermore (Lab)
We remain committed to implementing the Windsor Framework and to protecting the UK internal market.