(Provides particulars, background)
Sept 6 (Reuters) – Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss is anticipated to not activate the so-called “Article 16” emergency measures within the Northern Eire Protocol within the coming weeks, the Monetary Instances reported on Tuesday, citing her allies.
Article 16 permits both facet to take unilateral motion if it deems the post-Brexit settlement is having a strongly damaging influence on their pursuits.
A transfer to set off it could ramp up tensions with Brussels, and will finally result in a commerce struggle, with the EU presumably suspending components of the commerce deal that eliminated tariffs and quotas for items.
EU officers now count on Truss to request an extension to the grace durations agreed by the EU and UK in 2020 to permit lighter contact controls on commerce between mainland Britain and Northern Eire, which had been because of expire on Sept. 15, the newspaper mentioned.
“I’d be shocked if we go down the Article 16 route, though we’re not ruling something out,” one in every of Truss’ allies advised the FT.
A invoice to unilaterally scrap some customs checks to ease the motion of products is working its manner by the British parliament, and Truss mentioned final month that if picked as prime minister she would search to ship that laws in full.
EU diplomats say that Truss must put the invoice on ice to permit new talks, the FT report added. “That’s the naked minimal,” mentioned one diplomat.
(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru, enhancing by Deepa Babington)