Environment secretary admits other nations could have a case against no-deal Brexit proposal

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Michael Gove has admitted the government’s plan to waive all tariffs on goods crossing the Irish border into Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit could be legally challenged under World Trade Organization rules.

The environment secretary told MPs that legal advice had been sought, and it was “certainly the case that other countries could have an arguable case at [the] WTO” over a zero-tariff plan for Ireland.

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But he said the political needs outweighed those concerns. “We believe there are specific exemptions because of the broader political and security situation in Northern Ireland underpinning the Good Friday agreement, which mean that we can be allowed to do everything that we can.

“Of course we couldn’t keep this situation indefinitely but we can do everything we can for a period in order to maintain a frictionless border,” Gove told the environment select committee.

Under the no-deal tariff plan the UK would levy import tariffs on beef, lamb, pork and dairy products if it crashed out of the EU but waive them in Northern Ireland to avoid putting infrastructure on the Irish border.

The plan, revealed two weeks ago, has caused controversy in Northern Ireland with claims the double standards could prove disastrous for farmers who would face EU tariffs on dairy and meat products exported into Irish food processing plants that made everything from pizza toppings to cheese and infant milk formula.

This could be deemed illegal under WTO rules, which must be applied equally to all countries.

Neil Parish, a Conservative MP who chairs the committee, told Gove the no-deal tariff regime for Irish exporters would “crush” Northern Ireland’s agrifood industry and lead to bankruptcies and business closures.

“It would certainly put Northern Ireland’s agrifood industry at a disadvantage, yes,” Gove replied.

He admitted the zero-tariff plan could have a “significant impact” on the dairy industry.

Goves warning comes as Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party continues to withhold support for Theresa May’s Brexit deal over Irish border issues.

It has put the DUP at odds with local businesses and farmers, who say no deal would be a disaster as they would have to compete with cheaper food coming in from Ireland but face tariffs on their own exports of dairy, beef and lamb across the border.

About a third of all Northern Irish milk goes to the Irish Republic to be processed into butter, cheese and infant formula, while 400,000 sheep are exported a year to Ireland for slaughter and meat processing.

Parish asked Gove whether he would deploy emergency measures to protect Northern Irish farmers.

Gove said he had met representatives from Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on Monday and had told the department he would “provide whatever support they request to the best of our ability”.

Gove revealed his department had 2,800 staff working on Brexit, with 55 seconded from Natural England and 30 from the Environment Agency.