Ministers have been warned that tariffs and quotas could be slapped on some products by the EU if Boris Johnson overrides the Brexit deal in a trade dispute over the sale of sausages.
Tensions are rising before a crunch meeting on Wednesday to resolve issues arising from part of the agreement known as the Northern Ireland protocol.
The UK government is reportedly considering unilaterally extending the grace periods under the protocol that give businesses in Northern Ireland time to adapt to new rules – including for the import of chilled meats such as sausages and mince from Great Britain.
The grace periods are due to expire at the end of June, but according to the Telegraph, Johnson is contemplating extending them in the face of a lack of progress towards a new agreement on about 30 issues relating to checks on animals, goods and medicines.
Maroš Sef?ovi?, a European Commission vice-president who is travelling to London to lead the negotiations from Brussels’ side, wrote an article for the same newspaper in the run-up to the talks, warning that the EU would act “swiftly, firmly and resolutely to ensure that the UK abides by its international law obligations”.
Nathalie Loiseau, a French MEP and member of the European parliament’s UK coordination group, also said the UK should “stick to its commitments and implement them”.
Loiseau said Sef?ovi? was warning that if the UK continues to breach the protocol, then tariffs and quotas designed to regulate the import of goods into the EU by upping the price and putting a cap on numbers could be necessary.
Credit: theguardian.com
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