‘We don’t want a trade war between the UK and the EU.’ – Irish Prime Minister

A trade war between the United Kingdom and the European Union would be “shocking” and “unnecessary,” according to Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin.

He urged the UK government to “go into the tunnel and negotiate” improvements to Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit commercial arrangements.

Ireland and the European Union, “do not want a trade war” with the United Kingdom. The government stated last week that it would overrule crucial elements of the Brexit deal in the coming weeks.

After the UK chose to leave the EU, Boris Johnson’s government reached an agreement with the EU in 2019.

The EU has the right to suspend portions of the post-Brexit trade pact if the UK unilaterally abandons agreed elements of the deal that create barriers to goods traded between the UK and Northern Ireland.

When asked if the EU was planning to impose duties on politically sensitive UK exports at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Martin declined to “go into the minutiae of anything like that, because hopefully, it’s not something we’ll ever have to contemplate.”

When questioned why the EU was considering such a move at a time when inflation was growing, the Irish prime minister responded that it was only the UK that was making threats.

“The only unilateral action taken here is by the UK government, which has threatened to rip up an international agreement reached with the European Union,” he said.

Some of the world’s largest multinational corporations have stated that they are already seeking assurances about the likelihood of a trade war between the UK and the EU at the World Economic Forum.

Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, warned earlier this week that a quarrel between the EU and the UK at this moment would please “only Putin,” adding that he was attempting to “cool down the situation.”

On Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss visited Northern Ireland, underlining that a negotiated accord was her top priority.

She has, however, stated that she intends to introduce legislation in the coming weeks that would overturn crucial sections of the Brexit Northern Ireland deal.