European Union: Northern Irish Trade Amid Brexit St. John’s Preparatory School - Danvers, Massachusetts - December 2020
Letter from the Chair
Hello Delegates!
Welcome to SJP MUN XV. My name is Conor Beswick, I’m your chair for this committee.
I’m a junior here at the Prep. I have been a part of the MUN club here since the 7th grade. As well as being in MUN, I’m also a 3 season varsity athlete. I and my moderators are very excited to see how this committee debates and what solutions come to fruition. I urge all delegates to use the resources I provided and to find their own information sources as well.
While this paper has been reviewed several times, there may be a piece that doesn’t make sense. If that happens do not hesitate to reach out to me! I’d be more than happy to answer questions, give planning tips, etc. See you all in December, stay safe and healthy!
Conor Beswick Chair Under-Secretary General for Internal Communication Contact: [email protected]
Description of the Committee
This summit will take place between representatives of the United Kingdom, Republic of
Ireland, and the European Union. This summit opens upon the start of debate and will immediately be dissolved upon the complete closure of debate. This summit follows all parliamentary procedures including those for un/moderated caucuses and resolutions. For the purposes of this committee, each representative has an equal vote, no matter their position.
Ideally a consensus will be reached. However, resolutions require a simple majority to pass. Prime ministers Johnson and Varadkar each hold veto power, meaning either or both could veto a resolution. A veto may be overridden with a ¾ majority. A full list of all participants will be provided below.
Statement of the Problem
“Uncertainty is the enemy of the free market.” One of the many aspects of Brexit yet to be resolved is the nature of the border between Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom
(UK) and the Republic of Ireland, a member of the European Union. Along with the Good
Friday Agreement, the EU single market and EU customs unions allow for an open, soft border. Under EU guidelines, all member nations have soft borders, and as such, the current
ROI/UK border status is that citizens/labor and imports/exports can cross freely without security checks or tariffs. Without a “deal”, there will be a “hard border” established between the Republic of Ireland and British Northern Ireland, a border between countries that is strictly controlled by trade officials, police, or the military. This is primarily an economic issue, however given the history of NI there are political implications. A hard border could spark violence in the common trade area, similar to the “Troubles” in the 90’s. History tells us inappropriate border controls will create hostility. Delegates in this Common Trade Agreement
(CTA) summit will negotiate the terms of this border.
Maintaining a hard border is costly, so negotiating the terms of a soft border is to the advantage of all; the negotiation of this border impacts all the trade players directly or indirectly. The Republic of Ireland is Northern Ireland’s greatest trade partner, for both imports and exports. The USA is Ireland’s greatest trade partner. The EU is the UK’s greatest trade partner. The economic motivation for Brexit is that the United Kingdom may negotiate
“better” trade deals for themselves. A “no deal” Brexit would therefore make all current trade agreements subject to change. As a member of the EU, the ROI cannot act unilaterally in renegotiating the border. As a major trade partner with all nations, the USA will influence allegiances. Small businesses of Northern Ireland, especially those that are Catholic, are
dependent on free trade with the Republic of Ireland and workers on both sides of the border depend on a free-flowing border checkpoint. President Donald J. Trump is a great supporter of
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and has had political influence on how Boris Johnson may go about negotiations. A comprehensive deal must be reached involving tariffs, border control, labor flow, etc, compromising when necessary.
Northern Ireland: A soft border is essential to both the Northern Ireland economy and the current peace operations in Northern Ireland. NI is the weakest economy in the entire UK, with
1% higher unemployment rate than the rest of the UK combined. Several of the citizens who are employed in Northern Ireland work across the border in the Republic of Ireland. Longer waits to cross the border could cost people their jobs and further hurt NI’s workforce. Among other services, the biggest market in NI is the food/drink exportation. 2/3’s of NI’s exports go to the Republic of Ireland. If the Republic of Ireland started to find better deals elsewhere they could cripple the Northern Ireland economy for decades to come. The proposed hard border will be strictly monitored by police/military from both the UK and Republic of Ireland which will slow down wait times exponentially and it will be more difficult to move products in a cost effective way. A soft border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic would also preserve the integrity of the Good Friday agreement, which stated that a soft border would be forever existent between the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. The Good Friday agreement was tentatively agreed to from representatives on both sides of the issue. This ended most violence between the nations. Any major change like this could blow up the whole treaty.
This deal is essential to the current peace operations of Northern Ireland. A hard border could ignite violence and begin a new era of troubles. Irish Catholics have a particular disdain of
British police. A hard border could also trigger a secession of NI from the UK which would throw the European and UK’s economy into chaos. It may also set a precedent of others leaving the UK.
United Kingdom: A hard border would have several advantages for the UK. It would allow the UK and the EU to have the necessary customs controls, enabling the UK to fulfill the
Brexit goal of an independent trade policy. It would also allow the UK and the EU to have the necessary passport controls, enabling the UK’s promise to fulfill the Brexit goal of an immigration policy independent of the EU’s freedom of movement. British politician Nigel
Farage made these promises to the electorate and Johnson is pledged to complete them.
European Union and the Republic of Ireland: Maintaining a soft border requires the UK to make a mutually beneficial trade deal with RoI and the EU. Without this, a complete soft border will be nearly impossible. The two sides need to negotiate a deal. The benefits of EU membership are greater competition in services for non member nations around the world- which is good for businesses and consumers, removal of trade barriers, reduction of business costs, greater business efficiency.
The Northern Irish border negotiation directly impacts the European Union's existing trade relationships and incentivizes other members to leave, thus undermining its purpose.
History of the Problem
The European Union
The origin of the EU as a response to the challenges of post-WWII Europe. In 1952, the
European Coal and Steel Community united 6 European countries economically and politically by dropping tariffs on coal and steel between them. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome created the
European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’, which expanded member nations to 24, removed tariffs on all goods between members, and politically, shared security information. This created one of the first modern economic multinational partnerships.. The
EU Customs Union, the current EU, established in 1968, allows for EU companies to trade goods from outside the EU and helps to protect Europe’s citizens, animals and the environment. In practice, the Customs Union means that the customs authorities of all 27 EU countries work together as if they were one. They apply the same tariffs to goods imported into
Europe from the rest of the world and apply no tariffs internally. The EU’s goal is to foster unity between all European nations. An increasingly integrated economy would help bind nations together, incentivizing them to resolve political disputes. The UK, EU and Brexit
The 2008 market crash hit some European countries especially hard. When people from those countries couldn’t find a job at home, their citizens went to find jobs in other countries — like the United Kingdom. The EU expanded to include post-communist countries in the mid-2000s, and people in those countries were poorer. Many of their citizens immigrated to wealthier countries — like the United Kingdom. This also included Syrian and
African refugees. These two major issues are what propelled the Brexit movement according
to experts. Britain invoked article 50 in 2015. 52% of the United Kingdom voted to leave the
EU. Northern Ireland and Scotland both voted to remain.
Northern Ireland
The conflicts between Ireland and England have deep economic roots and go back centuries. All English colonization of Northern Ireland was based on economics. British settlers were sent to colonize Ireland for its extensive soil and untapped natural resources
(springs, etc). Wealthy English bought up land from the nobility or stole it from the poor, however the Irish nobility was also able to maintain their land. The north henceforth was known as Ulster. While Protestant settlers remained in the North, the island of Ireland remained autonomous. Irish Catholics began to lose their civil rights upon the rise to power of English constitutionalist Oliver Cromwell and his attacks on Ireland. Irish Catholics were forcibly removed from their lands and moved to lands that had little agricultural value. This process continued for centuries. England claimed Ireland as an integral piece of its kingdom and it became part of Britain in 1801. This meant that any and all products grown were automatically British property. The Irish potato famine exemplified consequences of British control. In 1845 Ireland was struck with a potato blight which the British brutally mismanaged, creating further disdain for the British government. The famine led to the death of over 1 million people.
A fringe movement began in 1916 which became known as the Easter Uprising, a fight for Irish independence and autonomy. The rebels considered British rule over Ireland oppressive because they couldn’t rule themselves or control their own economy. The movement was defeated and its perpetrators were executed. Seen as martyrs to the Irish republicans, those who wanted Irish independence from Britain, this rebel movement
motivated the Irish Republican Party, “Sinn Fein'', to separate from the British parliament and to create their own parliament in Dublin in 1920. The Irish parliament represented the entire island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland. Although still part of the UK, this was the first act of autonomy for the soon-to-be Republic of Ireland. A brief guerilla conflict between the
British government and Irish freedom fighters resulted in the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921. The northern 6 counties of Ireland, predominantly Protestant loyalists fesring discrimination from the Irish Catholic majority demanded to remain part of the UK. This made the Republic of
Ireland autonomous, separating Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with a hard border. The border between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland created in 1921 represents a compromise between the indigenous Irish population and English settlers
Between 1921-1998 the Good Friday Agreement, the north Irish border became increasingly regulated, or “hard”. Creating the border solved “the problem” for those in the
Irish republic, but created a whole new set of problems. At first, For the UK- Irish citizens looked for jobs considering the Irish economy was fairly weak at the time. The hard border made it nearly impossible for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland to immigrate to the Republic.
The newly independent nation of Ireland was a major trade partner with the United Kingdom however the United States actually did more business with them. It was extremely difficult to commute across borderlines so generally Irish nationals stayed in Ireland and British citizens in Northern Ireland stayed in Northern Ireland. At this point in time, there was not equal employment opportunity between Catholics and Protestants. Protestants owned the businesses and were the ones employed. After a strong campaign from the Irish Republican Party, Irish citizens were placed in a special category by the UK authorities as ‘neither aliens nor subjects’ and were granted the right to enter, reside and work in the UK unrestricted. Experts estimated
that this provision allowed an average of 50-60,000 Irish migrants per year to enter Britain between the late 1940s and the early 1960s. The Irish side had a hard border controlled by customs officials and police of each country. On the Irish side, It was a major issue for the
Catholics to have a soft border, however it was actually fiscally in the interest of the British government
The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, when Irish freedom fighters/terrorists fought to give Northern Ireland freedom from Great Britain, led to a militarized border by Great Britain.
The border was monitored by Irish police and on the side of the United Kingdom it was monitored by the Ulster Constabulary, which was 99% Protestant to prevent arms trade between supporters of the Irish Republican Army.
The Good Friday Agreement
The GFA ended the political troubles by addressing the economic issues. The majority of employed Northern-Irish Catholics work across the border in the Republic of Ireland. A key element of the Good Friday agreement was the free flow of labor between the borders, this was to the benefit of northern Irish Catholics. Having a soft border was economically logical for both countries to continue to grow their workforce. As well as workforce, Northern Ireland contributed extensively to the Republic of Ireland’s imports. A relaxed trade policy is also beneficial for both countries.
Questions to Consider
1. To what extent are tariffs necessary? What goods should be subject to tariffs? What purpose do tariffs at this border serve?
2. To what extent should labor and residency be controlled at this border, and by
whom? How would controls impact the unemployment of Northern Ireland?
3. To what extent do the European Union’s guidelines on certain imports limit trade for non
EU countries?
4. What are the political ramifications of a hard border? Who would manage the border? How would these terms affect the various segments of the Irish and Northern Irish population, for example, the Catholics and Protestants of NI?
5. How would a hard border affect the terms of the Good Friday Agreement? Would it provoke a “straw poll”? To what extent would this have impacted the unity of the UK?
Bloc Positions
The Nations/people in support of a hard border agreement with Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. These nations are looking to increase UK and northern Irish exports to the EU economic area.
PM Boris Johnson MP Dominic Raab MP Elizabeth Truss Alrene Foster PM Mateusz Morawiecki
Nations and representatives in favor of adhering to the principles set by the Good Friday agreement, and support a soft border between NI and the ROI.
Simon Coveney PM Leo Varadkar Charles Michel Phil Hogan Chancellor Angela Merkel President Emmanuel Macron
“Swing” Representatives: Representatives who do not have a clear stance who could be swayed by arguments.
MP Jeremy Corbin President Alexander Van der Bellen PM Alexander De Croo PM Giuseppe Conte PM Xavier Bettel PM Mark Rutte PM Mette Frederiksen PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis PM Antonio Costa PM Pedro Sanchez PM Stefan Löfven PM Janez Janša PM Igor Matovič PM Ludovic Orban PM Robert Abela
PM Saulius Skvernelis PM Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš PM Viktor Orbán PM Jüri Ratas PM Andrej Babiš PM Andrej Plenković PM Boyko Borisov
Works Consulted & Further Reading
1. Biondi, Flippo. “The Impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland: a First Look.” Global
Business Outlook, 17 Jan. 2017,
www.globalbusinessoutlook.com/the-impact-of-brexit-on-northern-ireland-a-first-look/
.
2. “Coronavirus: NI Faces 'Deep and Prolonged Economic Downturn'.” BBC News, BBC,
17 June 2020, www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-53057836.
3. Curtis, John. “Brexit and the Northern Ireland Border.” House of Commons Library, 15
Jan. 2020,
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/brexit/policy/brexit-and-the-northern-ireland-border/.
4. Stamp, Gavin. “Neighbours across the Sea: A Brief History of Anglo-Irish Relations.”
BBC News, BBC, 8 Apr. 2014, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26883211.
5. McGreevy, Ronan. “A History of Ireland for Outsiders: From Henry VIII to the
Troubles.” The Irish Times, The Irish Times, 6 Mar. 2019,
www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/a-history-of-ireland-for-outsiders-from-h
enry-viii-to-the-troubles-1.3816898. 6. Anonymous. “Customs.” European Union, 3 Feb. 2020,
europa.eu/european-union/topics/customs_en.