My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has regularly met with the EU Commission to discuss preparations for leaving the EU.<\/p>
The Government has been clear that the unique social, political and economic circumstances of Northern Ireland must be reflected in any arrangements that apply in a no deal scenario. We are absolutely committed to upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, and would do everything possible to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.<\/p>
In a no deal scenario, the UK Government is committed to entering into discussions urgently with the European Commission and the Irish Government to jointly agree long-term measures to avoid a hard border and to limit the impact of a no deal exit on life on the island of Ireland.<\/p>
We have confirmed a unilateral approach to checks, processes and tariffs to do all we can to avoid a hard border. The UK Government would not introduce any new checks or controls on goods crossing from Ireland to Northern Ireland, including any new customs declarations for nearly all goods.<\/p>
The UK temporary tariff regime would therefore not apply to goods crossing from Ireland into Northern Ireland.<\/p>
We would need to apply a small number of measures strictly necessary to comply with international legal obligations, protect the biosecurity of the island of Ireland, or to avoid the highest risks to Northern Ireland businesses - but these measures would not require checks at the border.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4091", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Robin Walker"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worcester"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Robin Walker"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-01T15:10:51.53Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "203"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Exiting the European Union "} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Exiting the European Union "} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-06-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Borders: Northern Ireland"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent steps he has taken with the European Commission to ensure that there is not a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4117", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrea Leadsom"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Northamptonshire"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrea Leadsom"} ], "uin" : "269730"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055374", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Exiting the European Union "} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1055374/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK will be able to negotiate, sign and ratify free trade agreements with rest of world partners and, if the backstop were to come into force following the Implementation Period, implement any elements that do not affect the functioning of the backstop. The backstop is not something that either the UK or the EU would ever want to come into force and, if it were to come into effect, both sides have been clear it should only be in place for a short time. The UK and EU are also legally obliged under the Protocol to use their best endeavours to facilitate trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, recognising the importance of that trade.<\/p>
The Government\u2019s long term economic analysis considers both the costs and benefits of moving to new trading relationships with the EU, and opportunities for ambitious new trade deals with new partners in the rest of the world. The analysis shows that the proposed deal is the best deal available for jobs and our economy that allows us to honour the result of the referendum and realise the opportunities of EU exit. The analysis can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/760484/28_November_EU_Exit_-_Long-term_economic_analysis__1_.pdf<\/a><\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4091", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Robin Walker"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Worcester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Robin Walker"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-11T15:39:24.96Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "203"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Exiting the European Union "}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Exiting the European Union "}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Borders: Northern Ireland"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential financial effects of the backstop on UK trading opportunities with the rest of the world after the UK leaves the EU.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1447", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Rosindell"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Romford"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Andrew Rosindell"}
], "uin" : "217003"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1052310", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Exiting the European Union "}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1052310/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The best way to guarantee no hard border remains delivering a deal with the EU. Both the UK and Ireland have said they will do everything in our power to avoid a hard border in any scenario. But, given that we haven\u2019t yet agreed a deal, the Government\u2019s continued duty is to prepare for every eventuality, including a no deal scenario.<\/p> The UK Government is clear that, in the event of no deal, we will do everything in our power to prevent a return to a hard border. In such a scenario, we must continue to respect our unique relationship with Ireland, with whom we share a land border and who are co-signatories of the Belfast Agreement. The UK Government is also firmly committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area (CTA) and to protecting the rights enjoyed by UK and Irish nationals when in each other\u2019s state, regardless of the terms of our withdrawal from the EU.<\/p>