Thread by @DavidHenigUK

If I'm reading the Internal Market Bill and Withdrawal Agreement Bill right they between them give UK Ministers the power to overturn WTO rules as well as the Withdrawal Agreement. But similarly the power to prevent Northern Ireland products being sold in the UK.

Because the Internal Market Bill uses the language first defined in the EU Withdrawal Agreement Act of "qualifying goods" from Northern Ireland. And what are these goods? Entirely up to the Minister to decide...

So, Mutual Recognition in Article 11 does not apply to Northern Ireland if Ministers decide it doesn't. Or does if they decide it does. 11-3 being the key para.

We then move to para 41 of the Bill, on checks on Northern Ireland to Great Britain goods. Which can be summarised as not allowing any new checks unless required, unless those requirements are in turn overrided by Section 45...

And section 45 overrides every existing commitment including WTO rules.

To summarise then, Ministers will have the power to prohibit goods from Northern Ireland being mutually recognised in the rest of the UK, but can only authorise checks around this decision, not for example to comply with WTO rules.

This Bill deserves some serious scrutiny because I suspect there's a lot more there that raises major questions. And it particularly plays to the idea that powers coming back from the EU are going to Ministers with only the slightest hint of Parliamentary sovereignty.

Now wondering if candidate for WTO DG Liam Fox will vote in favour of the UK government having the power to ignore WTO rules in the Internal Market Bill?