No deal = freedom of movement, apparently

What fresh hell is this ?

Irish goods entering the Northern Ireland market will not face tariffs in a no deal Brexit. However, Irish products entering the rest of the UK would face high tariffs on a range of food products. The details are contained in a new no deal Brexit plan published by the government. There will also be no checks or controls on the Irish border, according to the plan. It says the plan recognises the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland. It is possible that while Irish products would enter Northern Ireland tariff free, products moving in the other direction would face tariffs.

The government said it recognises that Northern Ireland's businesses and farmers will have concerns about the impact that the government's approach will have on their competitiveness. It stated: "These are the only steps the UK government can unilaterally take to deliver on our absolute commitment to avoid a hard border in the event of no deal." 

It added that there will be no checks or controls on goods moving from Ireland to NI. The government is also understood to be confident that the arrangement will not conflict with World Trade Organization rules. Typically the WTO expects all members to be treated equally. So if zero tariffs are applied to one member they should be applied to all members. The special arrangement for Northern Ireland would appear to conflict with that. It is understood the government could invoke an exemption to that non-discrimination principle.

It is understood the government acknowledges there will be a risk of Irish smugglers using Northern Ireland as a backdoor to get goods into GB tariff free. They intend to tackle this with an 'anti avoidance rule' which will be enforced on the basis of intelligence. There is no plan to have routine checks or controls on Northern Ireland goods crossing the Irish Sea.

Absolute madness. The plan for a no deal is to allow freedom of movement across the Irish border. It's a sign of just how desperate the government is to avoid a hard border that it's willing to completely overlook one of its major principles about how Brexit should proceed. It also explicitly treats Northern Ireland very differently from the rest of the UK - something the DUP will never accept. It's preposterous and unworkable.

Of course, in a few hours Parliament will vote to avoid this and we can have some other even fresher hell to deal with.

No tariffs for Irish goods going to NI

Irish goods entering the Northern Ireland market will not face tariffs in a no deal Brexit. However, Irish products entering the rest of the UK would face high tariffs on a range of food products. The details are contained in a new no deal Brexit plan published by the government.