UK to unveil unilateral plans for post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland
Britain will detail Tuesday how it plans to overhaul post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland which have sparked a political crisis in the province, amid fears it is risking a UK-EU trade war.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will "set out the rationale for our approach" in a statement to MPs in parliament, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman.
The UK government is yet to confirm what that entails, but media reports have said it is planning legislation allowing London to unilaterally override some of the rules around Northern Irish trade.
London wants to rewrite the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, which it agreed as part of its 2019 divorce deal with the European Union, amid trading frictions since it came into force last year.
The arrangements, which mandate checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales, have angered the province's unionists who claim they undermine its place within the UK.
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis said Tuesday that the protocol "doesn't work for business, it doesn't work for anybody in Northern Ireland".
He told Sky News that problems should be solved "preferably by agreement...