Brexit: Government confirms there will be checks on some goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The government has confirmed there will be checks on some products travelling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain from next January as a part of the EU withdrawal agreement.
Checks will need to be done on agri-food and live animal arrivals from Great Britain at Belfast port, Belfast international airport, Belfast City airport and Warrenpoint Port.
It comes after Boris Johnson said on the General Election campaign trail that there would be no checks on goods crossing the Irish sea.
A government official said there would need to be “expanded infrastructure” in some cases, but there would not need to be any infrastructure built.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told the House of Commons today that trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would remain “unfettered”.
He said that trade across the Irish sea would “take place as it does now”, tariffs would not be levied on goods going between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and that there will be “some limited additional process on goods arriving in Northern Ireland”.
He added: “In order to ensure UK trade qualifies for tariff free status, there will need to be declarations on goods as they move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
“But these systems will be electronic and administered by UK authorities.”
The government outlined the plan in a 23-page document today.
It included details such as that there would be no custom fees payable on goods remaining in the region and no security certificates required for goods going in either direction.
“There will … be no export declaration, exit declaration, or customs and regulatory clearance for any goods as they leave the rest of the UK for Northern Ireland,” Gove said.
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said the statement “exposed the broken promises made by the Prime Minister”.
“Today there has been an admission, for the first time, that there will be additional checks, that there will be tariffs on goods at risk of entering the single market,” she said.