DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has claimed that an extension of a new EU regulation to Northern Ireland would create significant problems for supply chains and the ability to market certain products.
For that reason the DUP will oppose the regulation which requires cross-community consent from Stormont MLAs. If the regulation is not passed then the UK government will decide if it should be introduced.
Mr Donaldson told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that the DUP believed the regulation would “create significant problems with our ability to market our products in Great Britain, which is our biggest market.
“We sell over 12 billion pounds worth of goods to Britain every year, which is significantly smaller than what we sell to the EU. So in all of these things, one has to make judgments. And, our assessment is that, to adopt this law would create significant problems in terms of access to our supply chains in Great Britain and our ability to market certain products as well.”
Mr Donaldson gave the example of textiles imported into Northern Ireland. “If we bring certain textiles into Northern Ireland as part of a process of, let's say, producing a particular department, under these regulations, it may not be possible then to, promote that garment in a certain way, because it includes textiles that have come in from other areas, that’s what the whole geographical indicators are about.
“So, on the basis of our assessment, we feel that we should, utilise the mechanisms that were agreed between the EU and the UK government. And which created for the first time, a democratic say in these matters.
"Let's not forget that under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Stormont had no say whatsoever. EU law automatically applied to Northern Ireland as a result of the Windsor Agreement and the subsequent further improvements that we secured.
"That is no longer the case that that dynamic alignment was broken, Stormont has a say. And on this occasion, we feel that, in order to protect our industry in Northern Ireland, this law shouldn't apply.”
Mr Donaldson said it was his understanding that the Stormont Brake did not apply in this case, it an applicability motion and that the UK government would abide by the wishes of the assembly.
“If the Assembly does not vote by a cross-community consensus to adopt this law, then the UK government will respect the wishes of our democratic legislature.”
Mr Donaldson rejected criticism by SDLP Stormont leader Matthew O’Toole that the DUP position was ‘a publicity stunt’. If that was the best that the Opposition could do then they weren’t doing their job, he said.
“Their job is to ensure that the laws applying in Northern Ireland are for the benefit of people in Northern Ireland, that they work for our industry, that they work for our communities. And I'm afraid that kind of language really doesn't impress anyone.”
When asked if the DUP was going to object to all new EU laws in relation to Northern Ireland, Mr Donaldson said the party would assess each law on its own merits.
“There is a democratic scrutiny committee that has now been established at Stormont, thanks to the negotiations that were undertaken by the DUP. And, it is the role of that committee to assess the potential impact that any such law will have. So we will take it on a case by case basis.”
