It is nice to hear some other stories beginning to creep back into the headlines again, rather than coronavirus, COVID-19 and pandemic being the prominent words in every bulletin.

However, one of the stories I heard last week did not exactly fill me with joy, I have to say. The UK or Britain or whatever you’re having yourself have until 30 June 2020 to apply for an extension of their withdrawal transition period.

As it stands, the transition period runs from 1 February 2020 (the day after the UK left the EU) to 31 December 2020.

Although not part of the EU, this transition period allows UK businesses and citizens to continue to enjoy certain rights and freedoms, such as the free movements of goods, persons and services, while the UK must continue to abide by many of the EU rules.

Extension

The withdrawal agreement allows for the transition period to be extended past 31 December this year for a further one to two years, but the extension must be sought before 30 June. The UK has stated that it will not be seeking an extension.

It would appear sensible and logical to apply for an extension to allow more time to negotiate a strong trade agreement, but sense and logic are not always two words that apply to the British government!

So where does that leave us with our suckler cows and beef cattle in the northwest of Ireland? Is a no-deal inevitable?

A huge percentage of our farm inputs come through the UK and Northern Ireland. More or less all our fertiliser and the straights to make our meal come from Northern Ireland and, of course, like the rest of the country most of our beef is obviously exported back to the UK.

Outcomes

So, will we be back to border checks, customs declarations and, worst of all, tariffs? The UK says no, but does anyone really know?

I get the feeling that the UK not applying for an extension is just another game of political chicken between themselves and the EU to see who is going to blink first.

If they said they are going to be gone by 31 December, then they are going to be damn well gone - whatever the consequences!

Let’s hope that the aforementioned sense and logic may prevail and some kind of pragmatic solution will be found, hopefully one that does not involve the word tariff.

If there isn’t, I fear a zoo may the only place to see a suckler cow in the not too distance future… right beside the sequestered carbon enclosure!

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