Ulster Unionist Leader, Steve Aiken OBE MLA, has raised concerns about the White Paper on the UK Internal Market issued by Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Mr Aiken said:
“The UK Internal Market paper released by Alok Sharma raises many questions for Northern Ireland. With the repatriation of powers there is a clear need for the Northern Ireland Assembly, and indeed the other regional centres of power, to be able to manage these additional responsibilities.
“For Northern Ireland the challenge will be substantial, with a less than stellar track record in managing renewal energy schemes as an unfortunate reminder of the urgent need for reform of our civil service. The most glaring omission on discussions about the UK Internal Market is the lack of detail on how Northern Ireland interacts with the rest of the UK, and how in our own country goods coming from the rest of the United Kingdom may be subject to additional rules, checks, and maybe even tariffs.
“The statement that ‘any goods being placed on the Northern Ireland market will need to comply with those(EU) rules’ reinforces our concerns on the continued lack of planning or information on East to West trade, and again reinforces a view that what the Conservative Government is advocating is indeed an Irish Sea Border.”