Northern Ireland Protocol: UK Legal Obligations Debate

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Department: Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Protocol: UK Legal Obligations

Hywel Williams Excerpts
Tuesday 8th September 2020

(3 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Brandon Lewis Portrait Brandon Lewis
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My hon. Friend is right on that. Those negotiations are ongoing—they are ongoing today, in fact. As I say, I am confident that our negotiating teams and the EU negotiating teams are all focused on getting a good outcome for both our friends and partners in the EU and us in the UK, and that they will come to a solid and good conclusion. We are simply taking reasonable, limited steps to outline what the position will be if that does not succeed, but I am with him in being confident that it will.

Hywel Williams Portrait Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)
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What assessment has the Secretary of State made of how the failure to implement the protocol in full will impact on the flow of Northern Irish goods exported to Great Britain necessarily through the Republic of Ireland and then through the port of Holyhead?

Brandon Lewis Portrait Brandon Lewis
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The purpose of the clauses we will be putting into the UK internal market Bill is to ensure that we continue to have good, free-flowing trade across the whole of the United Kingdom, including for Northern Ireland—I have mentioned the issue of unfettered access before. I hope that when the hon. Gentleman sees the clauses in the Bill that we will publish and introduce tomorrow he will see that that is a positive and sensible step.