A new report has warned that prime minister Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal, the Windsor Framework, will create more red tape for businesses which send goods to Northern Ireland.
The report by a House of Lords subcommittee found that the pact will be beneficial to very large retailers, but will leave many other companies facing more paperwork than before, reported The Telegraph.
Members of the Northern Ireland Protocol subcommittee gathered testimony from businesses regarding the potential effects of the agreement on their operations.
The Windsor Framework put to bed a dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, the British territory that shares a border with Ireland, with the aim of unlocking UK access to EU programmes.
“In important respects, and in particular for the non-retail sector, the Windsor Framework will be more burdensome than the Protocol as it has operated to date. While the green lane will benefit large retailers in particular, some retailers, and some other sectors, may have to use the red lane,” peers wrote in the report.
The “green lane” will facilitate the passage of goods exclusively intended for Northern Ireland, identified as such, across the Irish Sea without physical inspections and with minimal documentation. On the other hand, all other items will have to go through the “red lane,” involving more stringent checks and paperwork.
Peers drew attention to the haulage sector, which will be significantly impacted by the increased bureaucratic requirements in the “red lane,” leading to negative consequences.
There are also concerns about the red tape and cost involved in new requirements to label products as not for the EU.
According to Target Transport’s Mark Tait, the Windsor Framework will make things much more difficult.
Companies that want to avoid the most burdensome checks by sending food through the green lane may have to use four different stickers to label goods.
The report urged the government to reveal plans to support businesses in adapting to these changes as much of the systems under the pact will come into force in October.
“This Lords committee, which could hardly be said to be dominated by Brexiteers, in fact quite the reverse, has produced a detailed critique of the Windsor Framework, which effectively upholds many of the key criticisms of our own Star Chamber report back in March,” Mark Francois, chairman of the ERG, was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“This new analysis explains why the Windsor Framework is fatally flawed and thus also why the DUP have still not reentered Stormont.”
According to Nigel Dodds, a eurosceptic member of the committee and a DUP peer, the report exposes what he perceives as misleading information from No 10.
He highlighted that the report has significant implications, indicating that the Windsor Framework would be more detrimental to businesses and the Irish Sea border situation compared to the current scenario.
A government spokesman emphasised that the Windsor Framework is the optimal solution for Northern Ireland, promoting smooth trade with Great Britain and preserving its place in the Union.
The spokesman also stressed the importance of restoring the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly to grant the region a greater say in the new arrangements.
