TUV leader Jim Aliister says that he hopes his Private Members Bill can solve the issues of checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The North Antrim MP will bring his Bill to the House of Commons for it's second reading on Friday. The bill, titled The European Union (Withdrawal Arrangements) Bill was selected through the Private Members Bill ballot and has since commanded the support of the DUP, UUP, Independent Unionist Alex Easton, Nigel Farage and a number of other parliamentarians including former Conservative leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith.
Mr Allister's bill calls for the Protocol to be replaced with a new Annex to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which Implements a soft, invisible customs border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without the need for checks or infrastructure at the frontier, which he argues eliminates the need for an Irish Sea border and respects the integrity of the EU Single Market.
The Bill also argues that the trade and border issues can be addressed by employing Mutual Enforcement, which involves conducting checks away from the border on products crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic/Single Market, and vice versa, with the UK and the EU sharing customs data on all goods crossing the border and applying technology already deployed on low friction borders, such as Norway-EU, Switzerland-EU, and US-Canada, to provide maximum mutual confidence and transparency. Checks on compliance would be done at exporting warehouses, factories and farms away from the border.
Mr Allister said: ”Today the 1.9m people who live in Northern Ireland are covered by 300 areas of law that are the remit of the European Union. This means that for the first time, people of this country have had their democratic rights removed as they have no influence on law that applies to them.
“The absurdity of parts of our country having different democratic rights compared to others needs to be addressed and my Bill does just that. By creating a system of mutual enforcement, no physical customs barriers are required at all.
“Better still by bringing in this law we will set the stage for possible trade deals with the US, which under the current situation will be almost impossible, given the subjection of part of the UK to EU law and control. USA will want certainty in any trade deal with the UK and that requires the closing of the back door into the EU which the present Windsor Framework creates.
“Many in Westminster, and the country do not realise that what happens in Northern Ireland matters to everyone, all 70m of us. It really does and I believe that my Bill is an effective way of solving a host of problems left behind by the initial Brexit negotiations.”
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