Farmers may not face the daunting prospect of a hard border for agricultural goods like milk, meat and livestock, if the proposals in a draft Brexit document revealed today are implemented.

The draft document proposes that the same rules which currently apply in Northern Ireland as part of the EU would be applied by the UK when it leaves the EU.

The move would ease farmers’ fears about the potentially massive disruption to cross-border trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

The border issue is one of the key issues British and European negotiators have been trying to iron out before moving to a new phase of Brexit talks after an EU summit scheduled for 15 December.

A draft document quoted by RTÉ news states: “In the absence of agreed solutions, the UK will ensure that there continues to be no divergence from those rules of the internal market and the customs union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement.”

This means that the rules that benefit agriculture by allowing seamless trade across the border, such as tariff-free milk collections or unified animal health policies, could be retained even in the case of a hard Brexit.

EU summit

The proposal would need approval from the wider UK Government and EU member states before it is brought to next week’s summit.

This agreement suggests that trade can continue as normal on the island of Ireland with pigs and cattle going north and milk and sheep coming south.

What we have to watch now is what happens on Irish trade with Britain, where the vast majority of Irish exports, particularly on cheese and beef, go. These are the key issues on which farmers will be looking for answers.

There are also concerns in Northern Ireland that aligning trade regulations with the Republic may effectively erect a new border with mainland Britain.

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