[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by jonbxx

So how would you square keeping the NI/IE border open without checks AND keeping the trade between GB and NI open?

Maybe it's a lack of imagination on my part but at least one of these three agreements needs to be broken;

Northern Ireland Protocol
Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement
World Trade Organisation MFN rules

It looks like the first is the one we want to break but that will then break the Belfast Agreement unless we keep the border open, breaking the MFN rules

It’s very simple and a matter of rules interpretation. The EU could be friendly and assist definition of goods that are UK internal market only and thus exempt from NI customs treatment. They could agree to this in the interests of avoiding further sectarian dispute.

The Unionists quite reasonably want NI to be a proper part of the UK. The EU wants to split the UK up.

EDIT: MFN/WTO rules don’t come into this. NI is part of the UK.