Last week we wrote to the UK Treasury asking for clarification on the UK Government’s published no-deal Brexit proposals which appear to fly in the face of World Trade Organisation rules.

Looking at the UK Government's website it says, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, tariffs and tariff rate quotas would apply to a range of products, but "...The UK’s temporary import tariffs will...not apply to goods crossing from Ireland into Northern Ireland."

Reports that tariffs would be charged for a variety of imported goods in the event of a no-deal Brexit except those crossing from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland have caused all sorts of confusion, and were assumed to be down to a misinterpretation by some. However, the Government website states clearly that this would be the case.

If the Government for example said it was going to apply tariffs to all imports, except those entering the UK from Germany, without any form of trade deal in place, this would clearly be a breach of WTO rules. It would also go against the rules of the EU because Germany is in the Single Market.

The same principle applies to imports or movements of goods from any EU Member State, including the Republic of Ireland - irrespective of whether the border is on the land or in the sea. It is obvious that the Government statement makes no sense and effectively advertises a back-door for smugglers.

We have therefore written to the Treasury to seek clarification, and are happy to stand corrected if there is some form of rational way of doing this, but it appears to undermine the very principles on which WTO rules are based. However, if we are right a correction and explanation which sets the record right must be issued.

Whilst talking about tariffs, we were interested to see rates published by the UK Government, in the event of a deal. While some of the tariffs that would be in place in such a scenario are welcome, others are extremely concerning and of course UK tariffs are only half of the equation.

We must also consider that this would apply to our exports to the EU, which will be charged at full EU levels in the event of a no deal. There can be no doubt that EU tariffs would have a devastating impact on many UK exporters and in particular the sheep sector.

The combination of tariffs and a no-deal Brexit would also sever thousands of established supply chains causing unprecedented disruption. For all of those reasons we have reiterated our call for Parliament to revoke Article 50.

It is something we can do unilaterally without negotiation with and agreement from other member states, and it’s the only safe solution to the terrifying situation our businesses and economy are now facing.