New: The Irish govt has been pressing the EU and UK to allow NI exporters to benefit from existing and future EU free trade agreements, @rtenews understands.

2/ Under the NI Protocol, any goods produced in NI can circulate freely throughout the EU. However, those goods will not be recognised as EU goods for the purposes of being exported as part of existing EU free trade agreements (FTAs) due to country of origin rules

3/ in other words, goods produced in NI will be regarded as British rather than EU goods under WTO rules because NI will still be part of the UK Customs Territory.

4/ NI business groups have been seeking to benefit from EU FTAs since the Protocol was negotiated by Boris Johnson one year ago. Following initial signals of support from the Commission and London, they say, the offer went “cold” earlier this year

5/ The problem for the EU is that the Commission wd have to go back to some 60 FTAs and ask that they be reopened/tweaked so those countries will accept NI goods as EU goods

6/ That is not only a laborious process...those trade partners might also seek something in return. As of now NI will fall out of 60 EU FTAs on Jan 1 because of Brexit

7/ Dairy will be particularly hard hit. Millions of litres of milk are produced in the North then cross the border to be processed in the South. Much of that ends up being exported around the world under EU FTAs

8/ That is a problem for NI producers but also big Southern dairy companies who rely on NI milk to meet demand. They wd have to create two milk pools to differentiate NI milk from southern milk

9/ But it matters for other sectors as well

10/ Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, says: “This is important for Northern Ireland because 70pc of what we make is intermediate goods, components and ingredients that go into other things in the UK, but particularly a lot of things that go into Irish goods.”

11/ Those Irish goods which are then exported to third countries

12/ The Irish govt has been raising the issue informally at the highest levels both with the European Commission and the UK govt. I understand this issue has now been raised at the EU UK Joint Committee

13/ The govt’s argument is that NI businesses are being asked to take on the burden of the NI Protocol, and that despite their complying with all EU regulatory requirements, they still can’t benefit from EU trade deals

14/ The govt is also mindful that the NI Assembly votes on the Protocol 4 years after it takes effect. The more benefits that accrue the higher the chance of popular acceptance of the Protocol, is the argument

15/ The problem for NI businesses is that for the Commission to facilitate this the UK govt would have to ask Brussels to do it, as it’s UK Customs Territory

16/ Furthermore, Boris Johnson sold the Protocol on the basis that NI would be able to avail of UK FTAs. One has been signed so far...

17/ I understand that the issue is not a hot priority given that the EU and UK are currently consumed by getting their own future relationship sorted out, and getting the Protocol implemented thru the Joint Committee

18/ The Irish govt believes that an arrangement shd be possible but that it will take time, and may require a side agreement between the EU and UK