Northern Ireland’s Stormont Assembly members have given the green light to continue the Windsor Framework post-Brexit trade arrangements, passing the motion by 48 votes to 36.
This week’s vote, known as the democratic consent motion, is a means of giving Northern Ireland’s politicians a say on any deal, forming part of the 2020 Withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU,
As a result, the Windsor Framework, which effectively keeps Northern Ireland inside the EU’s single market for goods movements, will be effective for at least another four years.
The principles of the Windsor Framework are that goods traded across North Ireland’s border with the Republic of Ireland remain undisturbed by Brexit. However, the flipside is that goods arriving from the rest of the UK are subject to controls and checks, which is now known as the Irish Sea border.
UK government recently delayed new Windsor Framework procedures, which were to be introduced from September 30th of this year, telling businesses to be fully prepared for them by March 31st next year. They stopped short of saying they would ‘actually’ be introduced in March.
With the new target in mind, HMRC have prepared a fact sheet which contains important information to help businesses prepare for B2B movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland by this new deadline date. Details can be found here.
