Ireland has ramped up direct shipping routes to mainland Europe since the end of the Brexit transition period, seeking new passages to the EU bypassing freight jams feared at UK borders. Photo: VCG

Britain will detail Tuesday how it plans to overhaul post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland which have sparked a political crisis in the province, amid fears it is risking a UK-EU trade war.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will "set out the rationale for our approach" in a statement to MPs in parliament, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman.

The UK government is yet to confirm what that entails, but media reports have said it is planning legislation allowing London to unilaterally override some of the rules around Northern Irish trade.

London wants to rewrite the Northern Ireland protocol, which it agreed as part of its 2019 divorce deal with the EU, amid trading frictions since it came into force in 2021.

The arrangements, which mandate checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales, have angered the province's unionists who claim they undermine its place within the UK. The largest pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), is currently refusing to resume power-sharing in Belfast with pro-Irish rivals Sinn Fein.

Its stance comes nearly two weeks after Sinn Fein won a historic first victory in elections for the devolved Stormont assembly, which entitle the party to the role of first minister in a joint executive with the DUP. 

The impasse threatens to leave Northern Ireland, which suffered three decades of sectarian conflict until a 1997 accord largely ended the violence, without a government.

Johnson is adamant the current situation risks peace and stability in Northern Ireland and that his government has the right to act if the EU refuses to meet its demands.

"We don't want to scrap it, but we think it can be fixed," he told reporters during a visit Monday to Northern Ireland to meet its political leaders.

"We would love this to be done in a consensual way with our friends and partners, ironing out the problems... but to get that done, to have the insurance, we need to proceed with a legislative solution at the same time," he added, referring to the planned legislation.

Johnson's government says that checks on goods heading to Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales are undermining peace in the province, with unionist protests already turning violent in the past 18 months.

Keeping the border open with neighboring Ireland, an EU member, was mandated in the Good Friday Agreement, given the frontier was a frequent flashpoint for violence. 

However, it means that checks have to be done elsewhere, to prevent goods getting into the EU market and customs union by the back door via Northern Ireland.

AFP