DUP Agrees Deal to Reduce Trade Barriers and Restore Power Sharing in Northern Ireland

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in an undated file photo. (Liam McBurney/PA)

A deal that reasserts Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and its internal market has been published by the government on Wednesday.

Titled “Safeguarding the Union,” the document lays out a set of measures which will see the removal of routine post-Brexit checks on goods shipped from Great Britain to final destinations in Northern Ireland.

Following Britain’s departure from the European Union, the Northern Ireland Protocol came into force on Jan. 1, 2021. It introduced new checks on a percentage of goods from Great Britain coming to Northern Ireland.

Businesses were required to submit declarations and a tariff treatment is applied.

After it emerged that the “rigorous implementation” of the Northern Ireland Protocol was “unworkable” for communities and businesses in Northern Ireland, the Windsor Framework was adopted in February 2023.

A result of negotiations between the UK and the EU, the Windsor Framework kept Northern Ireland inside the EU’s single market for goods. It prevented a post-Brexit trade border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This, however, meant the introduction of checks and controls on goods from Great Britain.

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The changes, coming with the new deal, apply to goods staying in Northern Ireland. Importers will see reduced checks and paperwork as goods cross from Great Britain. The new deal will also prohibit future treaties with the EU that would harm Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.

“For agrifood, members of the schemes will not have to rely on hundreds of vet-signed certificates when moving goods, instead using a single general certificate - a system now in full effect,” the paper explained.

Last year, the British Veterinary Association warned that various vital medicines, including several animal vaccines, are likely to be discontinued if no agreement is reached between the UK government and the European Union by 2025.

Political Impact

The deal is also set to bring an end to the two-year boycott by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) over Brexit arrangements under the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The DUP announced on Wednesday that the brokered deal will “restore and safeguard [Northern Ireland’s] place in the Union.”

Commenting on the deal, DUP leader Sir Jeffery Donaldson said that the new measures will enable businesses to trade freely with the rest of the UK.

“There is now a stable and sustainable basis to restore our political institutions in Stormont in a manner in which both the unionists and the nationalists can support,” Sir Jeffrey said.

With the restoration of the devolved government at Stormont, the people of Northern Ireland will get their “accountable government” back, according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Mr. Sunak said that restored power sharing in Northern Ireland, which could see the Stormont Assembly sit again as soon as Saturday, “offers a bright future.”

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, the DUP leader praised Mr. Sunak for delivering “where others haven’t.”

“Rishi Sunak has worked with us, the secretary of state has worked with us, the team from Downing Street has worked with us to make these changes,” Sir Jeffrey said.

The Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, who is meeting the main Stormont parties in Belfast on Wednesday, welcomed the deal.

“The imminent return of the Assembly and Executive is good news for the people of Northern Ireland, and the Good Friday Agreement,” Mr. Martin said.

The last leadership elections in Northern Ireland saw Sinn Féin emerge as the largest party in May 2022. On Wednesday, Sinn Féin leader Michelle O'Neill said she was “up for the task” of leading the Executive as the first minister.

“We have a list as long as your arm of things that we need to do and we will achieve much more if we work together. I am committed to being the first minister for all,” Ms. O'Neill said.