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17th May 2022

UK Foreign Secretary set to announce plans to rewrite NI Protocol

Stephen Porzio

The move could cause a trade war with the EU.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is set to announce plans for legislation to rewrite the Northern Ireland Protocol, it has been reported.

This follows DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson stating in recent weeks that his party will not form an Executive in Stormont until issues with the Protocol are resolved.

European Union officials, meanwhile, have said that “renegotiation is not an option” when it comes to the post-Brexit deal.

This has led to fears that rewriting the Protocol could cause a trade war between the EU and UK.

Despite this, it is reported in multiple outlets that Truss will make the announcement on Tuesday (17 May) in a statement to the House of Commons.

The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to suggest on Monday following talks in Northern Ireland that his Government would start taking unilateral action to rewrite parts of the Protocol as an “insurance” policy should a deal not be agreed with the EU.

“We would love this to be done in a consensual way with our friends and partners, ironing out the problems, stopping some of these barriers east-west,” the Prime Minister said.

“But to get that done, to have the insurance we need, we need to proceed with a legislative solution at the same time.

“We don’t want to scrap it, but we think it can be fixed. And actually, five of the five parties I talked to today also think it needs reform.”

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