Australia trade deal: Edwin Poots 'strongly opposes' zero tariff deal

Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, said this is because of the protocol's rules on tariffs.

"Imports into Northern Ireland can only make use of the UK's trade deals if the difference between the applied UK tariff and the applied EU tariff is less than 3% of the value of the good.

"Because the EU tariff for imports of lots of such food products is so high, the difference between the EU tariff and the UK's trade deal tariff with Australia will be over 3%.

"This means Australian exports to Northern Ireland are unlikely to be able to make use of the UK-Australia trade deal.

"The UK can still choose to refund or waive the EU tariff for NI importers, but this ability is constrained by state aid rules."