Reason Johnson keeps wriggling out of this question is terminology - ie “checks”.
Businesses will have to fill in forms - ie an administrative process - that they currently don’t need to fill.
These forms, per the Johnson govt’s own published risk assessment, cost time & money
Businesses will have to fill in forms - ie an administrative process - that they currently don’t need to fill.
These forms, per the Johnson govt’s own published risk assessment, cost time & money
Only way to get a waiver on aspects of this process would be for the UK to align with the EU's standards for goods, customs procedures, and customs risk management — which Johnson has indicated he doesn't want to do. i.e. as with much of the Brexit debate it is about trade offs
This specific issue goes back to the fact that Johnson just tells people want they want to hear and promises to reconcile the irreconcilable.
That said, he'd pledged no customs & regulatory border down the Irish sea but cometh the hour cometh the u-turn — and did just that.
That said, he'd pledged no customs & regulatory border down the Irish sea but cometh the hour cometh the u-turn — and did just that.
tldr: GB to NI there will be checks (customs and regulatory border is down the Irish sea). NI to GB there will be an administrative procedure (eg exit declarations in line with Union customs code)
The impact assessment published by the Johnson government on 21 Oct. (days after the agreement) is clear on this. eg "Goods arriving in Northern Ireland, including from Great Britain, would undergo regulatory checks in accordance with EU rules" assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
