RHA welcomes NI Assembly motion on GB-NI trade

RHA welcomes NI Assembly motion calling on NI Executive and UK Government to resolve outstanding GB-NI trade issues

We welcome the debate on GB-NI trade which was held this week in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The debate included contributions from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland. This debate followed on from a series of meetings we've held recently with MPs and stakeholders in Westminster where we raised the outstanding issues facing our sector and highlighted the criticality of our industry to overall economic growth.

RHA Policy Lead for Northern Ireland, John Martin said:

“We welcome the focused debate at Stormont and the fact that through this successful motion, the Assembly acknowledged the importance of the haulage sector to the overall economy.

“The Assembly recognised that the role of our sector is critical to successful trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Crucially, specific concerns raised by our members on the movement of parcels and certain goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland were acknowledged.”

Commenting further, John added:

“For the economy to thrive, particularly in the manufacturing and agrifood sectors; supporting the road transport sector and protecting the supply-chain is critical taking cognizance that NI sources the vast majority of its goods from GB through well established and embedded supply lines.

“We want to work with decision-makers to get more clarity for our members and to resolve the key issues faced by our industry. In the weeks and months ahead, we'll continue to engage with MLAs, Ministers, MPs and various stakeholders on all of these matters.”



Notes:

• In the past two years, there has been a 30% drop in goods moved in Northern Ireland and businesses are feeling the impact.

• We recently met with MPs in Westminster to discuss the challenges faced by hauliers when it comes to GB-NI and NI-GB trade, particularly the lack of HMRC guidance on the movement of parcels due to come into force on 30 September and the ongoing issues with the Trader Support Service.
  
  
• We have concerns about the impact of increased bureaucracy, and a lack of industry-specific expertise amongst the Trader Support Service (TSS).
  
  
• In our recently released blueprint document, we have called for the UK Government to establish a new specialist haulage taskforce, led by industry, to tackle GB to NI trade issues.
  
  
  NI Assembly Debate Motion:

Question put and agreed to. Resolved:

That this Assembly recognises that the role of road hauliers is critical to successful trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland; notes the concerns raised by RHA - the Road Haulage Association regarding impacts on business-to-business deliveries, particularly around the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements and the turnover threshold for businesses moving goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland; and calls on the First Minister and the deputy First Minister to pressure the Northern Ireland Office and His Majesty’s Government to meaningfully engage with all stakeholders in order to resolve the negative impact these matters are having on Great Britain to Northern Ireland trade.