Today the UK Government will unveil new legislation that will give Ministers the power to override parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Responding to the ongoing travel chaos at UK airports and the Transport Secretary’s accusation that firms have “oversold” holidays, Liz Saville Roberts MP, who sits on the UK Trade and Business Commission, said

The government will give preferential treatment to visa applicants who have graduated from the world’s top 50 universities, regardless of the labour needs of the UK

Responding to analysis by the Office of Budget Responsibility that the UK missed out on much of the recovery in global trade after the start of the pandemic, and appears to be a ‘less trade intensive economy’, Hilary Benn MP, Co-Chair of UK Trade and Business Commission, said:

MPs and business leaders have today outlined a roadmap for the UK and EU to remove continued points of division and barriers to trade as both sides face massive external economic and security challenges.

The UK and EU are facing fresh calls to reduce divisions over the Northern Ireland Protocol in the face of greater common international challenges.

Members of the cross-party, cross-industry UK Trade and Business Commission will visit Northern Ireland on 3rd March to gather evidence from business leaders and port officials on trade under the Protocol.

A new statement from the Treasury suggests that the UK Government has collected no data about how much new post-Brexit import checks are costing businesses.

Today, new ONS figures on challenges facing UK businesses showed that weeks after the introductions of new post-Brexit import checks, a third of businesses reported a drop in turnover, 72% of businesses reported importing challenges and that less than two thirds of transport and storage businesses were fully trading.

Business leaders in Northern Ireland have called for stability amid the developing crisis over the Northern Ireland Protocol today.

Responding to the ONS October trade statistics, Alison Williams, member of the UK Trade and Business Commission and Global Head of Data at DunnHumby, said:

A commission of MPs and business leaders have been warned that triggering Article 16 would turn Northern Ireland into a "backwater" of foreign direct investment, jeopardising businesses, harming consumers and discouraging people in Great Britain from trading with Northern Ireland.

Research experts and charities working with people with serious and often terminal illnesses have said that delays to research and clinical trials from Brexit could mean the difference between ‘life or death’ for patients.

Responding to news that Amazon will no longer accept UK visa credit cards citing increased costs since Brexit, Tamara Cincik, from the cross-industry, cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission said,

Responding to the news that the UK’s Brexit losses are more than 178 times bigger than trade deal gains, Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said

New analysis shows that replacing the EU trade lost since 2018 with trade from other countries could increase annual emissions from shipping to and from the UK by 88%.

Responding to comments from the Office for Budget Responsibility that Brexit would have double the negative impact on the UK economy compared to the pandemic, Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said:

Responding to the disappointing UK trade figures for August 2021 from the ONS, Hilary Benn MP, co-convenor of the UK Trade and Business Commission said:

Responding to the announcement that the EU will bring forward new proposals on the NI Protocol next week, Claire Hanna, South Belfast MP, who sits on the UK Trade and Business Commission said:

The cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission of MPs and business leaders has published recommendations to improve the government’s Brexit deal which continues to cause serious problems for people and businesses including the ongoing supply crisis.