UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland and Wales

(asked on 6th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of a failure to reach agreement with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol on trade between Wales and Northern Ireland.


Answered by
Simon Hart Portrait
Simon Hart
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
This question was answered on 13th January 2022

The Government is monitoring and assessing these critical trade routes between Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland and the rest of the UK. Ministers meet regularly to discuss such matters, to ensure effective implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and support the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Our overall aim is to re-negotiate the Northern Ireland Protocol and any solution must respect the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. We have worked hard, and in good faith, to make the Protocol work, while the EU finally acknowledged in October that the operation of the Northern Ireland Protocol is causing problems for people and businesses. Our preference is to reach a comprehensive solution dealing with all the issues now.

We want a positive relationship with the EU, underpinned by trade and our shared belief in freedom and democracy. Resolving the current issues is critical to unleashing that potential.

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