Latest updates: minister suggests US might side with UK over the Northern Ireland protocol if issue is brought up at this week’s G7 summit
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12.23pm BST
This is from Ian Jones from PA Media.
Here’s how the latest Covid-19 case rates for local areas compare with one month ago.
The rise in cases is still concentrated mostly in NW England and Scotland, though pockets of the rest of England are now recording an increase. pic.twitter.com/5Wgzm7aTX8
12.12pm BST
John Campbell, the BBC’s economics and business editor for Northern Ireland, has posted a useful Twitter thread on what George Eustice was saying about the Northern Ireland protocol this morning. (See 9.21am.) He is surprised that Eustice only now seems to be speaking out about the sausage issue, and he says Eustice was wrong in what he said about the US.
Fresh sausages & mince: There is currently a 6 month grace period which allows these products to move GB-NI, albeit with export health certs.
Here is the grace period detail. It’s clear this period was to be used by supermarkets to adapt: ‘will be used by supermarkets in Northern Ireland to adjust’ https://t.co/6sFwypqld7
The standard EU rules are that these are ‘prohibited & restricted’ goods & don’t get into the single market. This has been the case for GB-EU since 1 January. (Headline is wrong on this, should be GB) https://t.co/SO4YhZ1aIL
So come 1 July either these products will be prohibited GB-NI or there is an agreement to extend the grace period or the UK will unilaterally extend.
The UK AgSec seems to have belatedly woken up to this on the Today program describing the chilled meats issue as ‘bonkers.’
He also reckons the US administration wouldn’t understand a situation where a Texas sausage couldn’t be sold in California. But California does have a hard SPS border with the rest of US. https://t.co/Gwok49GqTu
Continue reading… Source: The Guardian: Brexit: Eustice attacks ‘nonsensical’ ban on selling sausages as row with EU over Northern Ireland protocol deepens – live ———