The UK is still poised to trigger the 16th division in the EU-N.Ireland series, Truss says

British Foreign Secretary Liz Tress speaks during the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ session with guest countries and ASEAN countries on the final day of the summit on December 12, 2021 in Liverpool, UK. REUTERS / File Photo by Olivier Douliery / Pool

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The United Kingdom is ready to take unilateral action to suspend tariffs on goods going to Northern Ireland, Foreign Minister Liszt said ahead of talks with the European Union.

Truss is set to hold talks with EU Vice President Maros Chefkov this week to resolve differences over post-Brexit trade arrangements in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom that shares a border with Ireland.

In order to avoid politically contentious border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland, Britain and the European Union agreed that Northern Ireland would operate effectively within the EU Customs.

However, there is friction about how this applies in practice – especially to goods within Northern Ireland – as well as the role of the European Court of Arbitration in the European Union.

“I want a negotiated settlement, but if the legal provisions, including Section 16, are to be applied, I am prepared to do so,” Truss said. Wrote in The Telegraph newspaper.

“The people of Northern Ireland will not benefit as much as the rest of the UK from the same decisions regarding taxation and spending, or I will not sign anything that sees goods being subjected to moving tests within our own country.”

EU ambassador to the United Kingdom Joao Vale de Almeida said on Sunday that the federation was “not overly impressed” by the British position on the 16th Amendment. Northern Ireland if there are significant practical issues or trade diversions.

“We have heard this from the government before, so we are not surprised, we are not very impressed, but we still believe that it is not very effective that we continue to fight the issue of the 16th Division,” he told Sky News.

“I think we need to focus on what, at least where we focus, and try to find solutions.”

In December, Truss was appointed to replace David Frost as Britain’s leading Brexit negotiator, and he often raised the possibility of implementing Section 16 if talks stalled. read more

Report by David Milligan Editing by Paul Simao and Elaine Hortcostel

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