Policy & Compliance
‘not for EU’ labelling systems for certain goods sold in Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK; • Establishing a new body, Intertrade-UK, to promote trade within the UK. Constitutional position Changes relating to Northern Ireland’s constitutional position and how the devolved institutions assent to relevant new EU legislation: • Amending the part of the 2018 EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (QR code: Item 6 – EU Withdrawal Act) that provides the legal mechanism through which certain EU laws are given legal effect in the UK, to make reference to the Democratic Consent (QR code: Item 7 – NI Protocol Democratic Consent) and Stormont Brake (QR code: Item 8 – Stormont Brake) procedures set out in the Northern Ireland Protocol/Windsor Framework; • Enshrining in law the UK government’s commitment to conduct an independent review after a Democratic Consent vote, if democratic consent for continuation of Northern Ireland alignment with EU rules on goods is obtained by a majority of Assembly members voting but not with cross- community support; • Establishing a new East-West Council, a forum for representatives from government, business and the education sector from Northern Ireland and Great Britain, to “identify opportunities for deepening connections between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK in areas such as trade, transport, education and culture”; Other proposals: • Complete the devolution of Corporation Tax to Northern Ireland, which has “stalled” despite commitments made in the 2014 Stormont House and 2015 Fresh Start agreements; • Although it does not form part of the Command Paper, a financial package was outlined by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in a statement on 20 December 2023, that he said was “worth in excess of £3 billion”. BIFA will follow further developments and update Members accordingly.
Containers being unloaded at the port of Belfast
Framework) preventing UK government from entering new agreements with the EU that supersede all or parts of the current Protocol and that would create new regulatory barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland (this does not affect new EU laws being applied to Northern Ireland under the existing Protocol); • Changes to the UK Internal Market Act (QR code: Item 3 – UK Internal Market Act) (IMA), which reinforce the policy of unfettered access of qualifying Northern Ireland goods to the Great Britain market; • Tightening the definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (QR code:- Item 4 – Qualifying NI Goods) under the IMA, to try to ensure only Northern Ireland traders benefit from unfettered access to Great Britain, and not those just re-routing goods through Northern Ireland to avoid border checks; • Proposed changes (yet to be detailed) turning the ‘green lane’ for goods in Northern Ireland into an ‘internal market system’ that the government says will reduce “burdens and formalities”. In particular, the government is seeking EU agreement to expand the list of agri-food products from outside the UK and the EU that can enter Northern Ireland from Great Britain via this ‘lane’; • A consultation on proposed legislation (QR code: Item 5 – Marking retail goods draft) to extend the
Item 3 - UK Internal Market Act
Item 4 - Qualifying NI Goods
Item 1 - new devolution deal
Item 2 - Windsor Framework
Item 5 - marking of retail goods draft
Item 6 -2018 (Withdrawal) Act
Item 8 - Stormont Brake
Item 7 - Democratic Consent
March 2024 | 13
www.bifa.org
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker