The former head of the UK government's Border Delivery Group has said the no deal plan for the Northern Ireland border is unsustainable for more than a matter of months.

BBC News NI's John Campbell looks at the plan.

What's the problem?

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will immediately be in different customs and regulatory territories.

Normally, in such a situation, countries will carry out customs procedures and other checks at their borders to prevent smuggling.

This involves customs posts and other infrastructure. Even Sweden and Norway, which are both in the EU's single market, have customs checks at major border crossings.

However, the UK government has promised that it will not harden the Irish border in any circumstances.

What's its solution?

The UK said it will not impose tariffs on Irish goods crossing the border into Northern Ireland.

In addition, it will not introduce any new checks or controls on goods at the land border.

For Irish exporters to Northern Ireland, it would be like Brexit hasn't happened.

However, Irish goods going direct to Great Britain, such as on the Dublin-Holyhead route, will be subject to new tariffs and controls.

So won't Irish exporters just ship their GB exports through Northern Ireland to avoid tariffs?

To some extent this will be possible.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) say there will be a "general anti-avoidance rule" to discourage Irish firms from using Northern Ireland as a tariff-free back door into GB.

However, if Irish businesses have traditionally shipped through Northern Ireland, they can continue to use this route without facing tariffs.

 

Media captionBusiness editor Simon Jack looks at what could happen to trade after Brexit?

If they begin to ship products on this route for genuine commercial reasons, other than avoiding tariffs, that will also be permitted.

Irish products which are processed in Northern Ireland and shipped onwards into GB will also be tariff free.

HMRC will not be applying any new checks or controls on products crossing from Northern Ireland ports to GB. Instead, there will be "intelligence led" enforcement.

What about products going from Northern Ireland to the Republic?

The no tariff, no checks plan is a unilateral initiative by the UK - it will not be matched by Ireland.

As an EU member, Ireland will be obliged to impose tariffs on Northern Ireland goods crossing the border and carry out checks to protect the single market.

In effect, this means Northern Ireland goods, particularly in the agrifood sector, will face substantial new trade barriers but Irish goods going in the other direction will not.

The government has acknowledged this will impact on the competitiveness of Northern Ireland businesses.

The Ulster Farmers' Union said that in order to protect the food industry in Northern Ireland the plan should be changed.

The union's president, Ivor Ferguson, said the current plan would mean a "catastrophic" outcome for farming and food production in Northern Ireland.

"Steep export tariffs, additional checks and regulations, combined with a proposed zero tariff on agricultural goods from Ireland to NI, will result in significant disruption and pose a logistical nightmare for farm businesses."

Does the plan comply with World Trade Organisation rules?

The most important WTO principle is that members do not discriminate. So, if zero tariffs are applied to one member, they should be applied to all other members.

At a glance, the UK government's plan for cross border trade with Ireland would appear to conflict with that.

The government is confident that the arrangement will not break WTO rules and that various exemptions to the non-discrimination principle could apply.

However, some trade experts have expressed scepticism that the plan is compliant.

US-China trade war: Shoe giants urge Trump to end tariffs

22 May 2019

Some of the world's biggest footwear firms are urging Donald Trump to end the US trade war with China, warning of a "catastrophic" effect on consumers.

A letter signed by 173 companies, including Nike and Adidas, says the president's decision to raise import tariffs will affect the working class.

They also warn that higher levies threaten the future of some businesses.

Mr Trump says that the trade deficit with China hurts the US economy.

The US president increased levies on $200bn (£157.3bn) worth of Chinese imports into the US from 10% to 25% more than a week ago after Washington and Beijing failed to reach a deal on trade.

China retaliated by announcing plans to raise levies on $60bn of US imports from 1 June.

The footwear companies that signed the letter, including Clarks, Dr Martens and Converse, say that while the average US tariff on footwear is 11.3%, in some cases it can reach as high as 67.5%.

"Adding a 25% tax increase on top of these tariffs would mean some working American families could pay a nearly 100% duty on their shoes," the companies wrote.

"This is unfathomable."

"It is time to bring this trade war to an end," the firms urged.

When he raised tariffs earlier this month, Mr Trump told companies that they could reduce costs by shifting production to the US.

Report

However, the shoemakers and retailers say that while they have been moving their sourcing away from China: "Footwear is a very capital-intensive industry, with years of planning required to make sourcing decisions, and companies cannot simply move factories to adjust to these changes."

Retaliation fears

On Tuesday, a top business lobby in China released a survey of its members that found just over 40% had relocated, or were considering moving production facilities, outside of China because of tariffs.

The survey by the American Chambers of Commerce in China and Shanghai found one-third of respondents had delayed or cancelled investment decisions to cope with tariffs.

A recent escalation in the trade conflict - including tighter restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei - was creating fresh concerns for businesses in China, the group said.

Last week, the Trump administration added Huawei to its "entity list", which bans the company from acquiring technology from US firms without government approval.

Speaking to the BBC, the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in China, Tim Stratford, said its members had "real concerns" about the fallout from the US action against Huawei.

"Particularly in the wake of the decision to put Huawei on the... entity list, there are concerns that the government of China may decide to retaliate against American companies," Mr Stratford said.

A survey by AmCham found that slightly more than 40% of its members had relocated, or were considering moving, outside of China because of tariffs.

The group represents more than 900 US companies working in China.

Plane manufacturer Boeing, pharmaceuticals firm Pfizer and soft drink giant Coca-Cola are among the US companies AmCham represents in China.

Last year, Boeing opened its first completion plant for its 737 passenger plane in eastern China, near the city of Shanghai.

Boeing's president of China, John Bruns, said he was "nervous" about the "challenging environment" caused by the tit-for-tat tariff war.

How did we get here?

China and the US have been engaged in a fractious dispute over trade since the early days of Mr Trump's presidency.

While campaigning for the presidential election in 2016, Mr Trump repeatedly accused China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft.

He threatened to apply tariffs, saying China's entry into the World Trade Organization had paved the way for the "greatest jobs theft in history".

He also wants to cut America's trade deficit with China, which he says is hurting US manufacturing.

Despite several rounds of talks, the world's two largest economies have failed to reach an agreement to end the trade war.

What's next?

Still, Beijing signalled some willingness to work with Washington to solve their trade dispute.

No discussions have been scheduled since the last round of talks ended on 10 May.

"China remains ready to continue our talks with our American colleagues to reach a conclusion. Our door is still open," China's ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said on Fox News.

The leaders of the US and China are also set to meet again at the G20 summit in Japan next month.