The draft Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Democratic Consent Process) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 would implement the mechanism for obtaining democratic consent in Northern Ireland to the continued application of articles 5 to 10 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the withdrawal agreement.
Documents to download
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Trade Bill (427 KB, PDF)
The Trade Bill is a government bill which has completed its legislative stages in the House of Commons and was introduced in the House of Lords on 18 July 2018. It is scheduled to have its second reading on 11 September 2018. It would make some of the legislative changes needed to enable the UK to implement an independent trade policy once it has left the EU, including:
- creating the necessary powers for the UK to transition (or roll over) trade agreements that currently exist between the EU and other countries which the UK is party to through EU membership.
- allowing the UK to implement the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) independently rather than as an EU member.
- establish a new independent UK body, the Trade Remedies Authority, to defend UK businesses against unfair trade practices.
- ensure the UK Government has the legal ability to gather and share trade information.
The Trade Bill does not make specific provision for the terms of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU or provide for new trade agreements with third countries that do not currently have a trade agreement with the EU. A separate bill, the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Bill, is intended to make tax-related provisions relating to the UK’s future international trade policy.
The Trade Bill would give the devolved authorities powers to make regulations to implement rolled-over EU trade agreements and the GPA in areas of devolved competence, but subject to more restrictions than UK ministers. The Scottish Government recommended against giving legislative consent to the Bill, and the Welsh Government said amendments would be needed before it could recommend legislative consent. Government amendments to the Bill made in the House of Commons reduced the restrictions on devolved ministers’ use of the powers, but did not address all the concerns raised by the Scottish and Welsh Governments. The Bill was also amended in the Commons to place further restrictions on the use of delegated powers to implement rolled-over EU trade agreements, although MPs expressed concerns over the level of parliamentary scrutiny of this process and whether other countries would agree to roll these agreements over without substantive changes. The Government was defeated on a cross-party backbench amendment on participation in the European medicines regulatory network after exit day. A backbench amendment which would have required the Government to seek to participate in a customs union with the EU if it could not negotiate a frictionless free trade area with the EU was defeated by a majority of six.
Related Links
Documents to download
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Trade Bill (427 KB, PDF)
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In the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, the Government is seeking to ensure unfettered access to the UK internal market for “qualifying Northern Ireland goods”. On 30 November 2020, the House of Lords is due to debate the draft Definition of Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. They contain the definition of “qualifying Northern Ireland goods” that will apply to the bill. This article explains the background to the regulations, and why the Government also intends to introduce further legislation in this area.
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Medicinal and agrochemical products can be granted a Supplementary Protection Certificate, an intellectual property right associated with patents, to provide up to five years of additional rights and protections once their patents have expired. In order to apply for an SPC, a product must receive approval to be sold on the UK market. Under the Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol, products to be sold in Northern Ireland must obtain approval under EU law, whilst products to be sold in the rest of the UK will obtain approval under UK law. Currently, this marketing authorisation is only given on a UK-wide basis. This regulation amends the market authorisation process to enable authorisations to be granted for the Northern Ireland market only and for the Great Britain market only.
