Hopes for ‘nil-all draw’ in NI protocol negotiations as mood improves to resolve row
Ireland is looking for a “nil-all draw” in negotiations between the UK and the EU, its foreign affairs minister has said, amid fresh hopes a compromise can be reached over the Northern Ireland protocol row.
At a news conference in London, Simon Coveney said: “What we’re after here is a nil-all draw, where everybody can walk away feeling that they haven’t won or lost, but they can live with the outcome.”
The comments hint an improvement in the mood in Brussels and Dublin, following a lengthy stalemate with the UK on the post-Brexit trading arrangements for the region.
Mr Coveney said renewed technical discussions between both sides had gone “reasonably well” and there was now a “genuine effort” by the UK to resolve the issues caused by Brexit.
He told reporters: “I think the conversations we’re having now with the British government certainly suggest to me that we are in a different space now, one we haven’t been in for quite some time, where there is a genuine effort… on actually how we can solve these problems together.”
He added: “Political leadership is about making things happen and sometimes surprising people, and I think that’s what we need to do over the next few weeks, to provide reassurance.”
The Northern Ireland protocol was agreed by the UK and the EU as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and sought to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
But the arrangements have created trade barriers on goods being shipped from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and are vehemently opposed by many unionists in Northern Ireland.
As a solution, the UK government has laid out legislation to rip up larges swathes of the Brexit agreement, which critics say in is in breach of international law.
Relations between the EU and the UK had been soured over the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which was introduced into the Commons by Prime Minister Liz Truss when she was foreign secretary.
However, this week has seen a shift in the mood with both sides appearing more positive about the prospect of a deal.
Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign affairs minister
Mr Coveney was in London on Friday to attend a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, alongside Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.
Mr Heaton-Harris said he was “very positive” that a solution can be found over the protocol.
He added: “I believe we’re all working in good spirit with good co-operation to deliver on the changes that are required for the protocol to be fixed or the issues within the protocol to be fixed. And we need to we need to show some progress on that.”
He defended the UK’s right to push ahead with the protocol bill, but said it would be a “redundant piece of legislation” if a deal was reached.
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Minister of State for Northern Ireland Steve Baker, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris, Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee
Talks have been given a new impetus following the election of Ms Truss as prime minister and a looming deadline in Northern Ireland, where the row has stopped a devolved administration from forming.
Mr Heaton-Harris repeated his intention to call an election if the DUP does not return to the table by the legal deadline of 28 October.
Current legislation says that if Stormont is not restored by then, Mr Heaton-Harris should call a new election.
A joint communique, issued after the meeting, committed both sides to “doing everything possible” to restore power-sharing.
While both said progress on the protocol could help re-establish the executive, Mr Heaton-Harris said it was “fool’s gold” to talk about timelines, and Mr Coveney said it was “completely unrealistic” for everything to be agreed in three weeks.
“The starting point here is to build a bit of trust,” the Irish foreign minister said. “Now we need to move to the next step, which is the difficult stuff.”
World
Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Read more: What’s a bear market?
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?
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China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
World
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
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The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
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