In its latest
report, the European Scrutiny Committee considers recent
draft EU legislation and policy documents deposited in Parliament
by the Government.
Each document is accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum from
the relevant Minister. The Committee examines the legal and
political importance of the document and where appropriate asks
further questions of the Government about its implications. The
Committee also has the power to recommend documents for debate.
In its latest report the Committee highlights the importance of
several documents, and how it intends to follow up with
Government. These include:
DIT – WTO Airbus-Boeing dispute: application of EU
retaliatory measures
Important because:
- This implementing regulation sets out the retaliatory tariffs
that the EU will impose on US goods as part of a long-running
dispute on subsidies for Airbus and Boeing
- The UK is bound to apply the tariffs until the end of the
year. It is unclear whether it could continue to apply them from
1 January 2021 when the UK is represented in its own right in the
World Trade Organisation
- The implementing regulation will continue to apply in
Northern Ireland under Article 5 of the Northern Ireland Protocol
The EU and United States have had a dispute over subsidies for
Airbus and Boeing at the WTO for over sixteen years. This
implementing regulation gives effect to an October WTO decision
authorising the EU to impose additional customs duties on US
goods, up to a value of $4 billion per year. The UK Government
has urged both sides to reach a settlement. The Secretary of
State for International Trade announced on 9 December that
the Government does not intend to apply the retaliatory tariffs
from 1 January 2021 “while reserving the right to impose tariffs
at any point”.
The implementing Regulation will, however, continue to apply in
Northern Ireland to “at risk” goods – in this case, US imports
affected by the retaliatory tariffs which enter Northern Ireland
and are ‘at risk’ of continuing into the EU Single Market. The
Government recently
announced that it has agreed with the EU criteria for
determining which goods will be considered to be ‘at risk’.
The Committee has responded to the Minister, asking whether the
UK would be entitled to apply the retaliatory tariffs on or after
1 January 2021, as the authorisation to do so was given to the EU
as the complainant in the dispute; and whether industries in
Northern Ireland face being left at a competitive disadvantage if
additional duties are imposed.
HO – Northern Ireland Protocol: continued application of
EU firearms laws
Important because:
- The EU Action Plan on Firearms Trafficking calls for the
effective implementation of the EU Firearms Directive, a measure
which will continue to apply in Northern Ireland after the end of
the post-Brexit transition period, under the terms of the
Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Committee has previously questioned whether the UK will
continue to have access to databases that govern the movement of
firearms within the EU. The Minister for Security has now
confirmed that the Department for International Trade has been
given full access to two EU Internal Market Information systems,
in order to meet its obligations under the Northern Ireland
Protocol – irrespective of the outcome of future relationship
negotiations.
The Committee’s full report is
available online and is attached to this email
