Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020
76. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagement he has had with the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs during the week of 30 November 2020, on the impact of a no-deal Brexit on all island trade. [41621/20]
View answerI can confirm that I met both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 1st December and that I avail of every opportunity to update them on the impact that Brexit will have on the agri-food sector.
The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland ensures that many of the changes arising from Brexit will not arise on the island of Ireland, regardless of whether there is an EU-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
It is important that we are clear and open about the challenges posed by the implications of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. These changes include the fact that goods from Northern Ireland will have UK origin. UK origin goods cannot avail of preferential tariff rates available under EU FTAs. Mixed origin goods, that is goods containing both UK and EU origin inputs, may be able to avail of EU FTAs but only if they meet the relevant product-specific rule for that product.
It is my view that traders across the island of Ireland must continue to prepare for the reality of all of the changes that will face us on 1 January 2021, including the practical impact that the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will have in terms of access to EU FTAs.
Nevertheless, there may be opportunities, particularly in respect of ongoing trade negotiations by both the UK and the EU with third countries, to identify solutions to this challenge for all island supply chains. Not all the tools required to make progress on this issue are in our control, or even that of the EU.
I remain strongly engaged on this issue, but we must all face the reality that this is a very complex area and there exist fundamental challenges to progress towards a solution.
