Letter: Benefits of ‘dual market access’ do not justify the constitutional and financial cost of the Irish Sea border

We should remind ourselves that under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement 2020 (TCA) the whole of the United Kingdom has tariff-free and quota-free access to European Union markets provided that goods are produced in the UK or the EU.

Businesses in Great Britain are happily engaging in billions of pounds worth of trade with the EU under TCA terms.

Northern Ireland could do the same in exchange for of a bit of extra paperwork.

The marginal benefits of ‘dual market access’ do not justify the constitutional, bureaucratic and financial cost of the Irish Sea border, which does not provide the unfettered trade with GB we are apparently promising to foreign investors.

Dr Paul Kingsley, Belfast BT4