![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Irish-PM-696x392.jpg\" "\\"Irish")
<\/div>\nA UK-EU trade war would be \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201cunnecessary\u201d, the Irish Prime Minister Miche\u00e1l Martin has said.<\/p>\n
He called on the UK government to \u201cget into the tunnel and negotiate\u201d over changes to the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach told the BBC that Ireland and the European Union \u201cdo not want a trade war\u201d with the UK.<\/p>\n
The government last week announced plans to\u00a0override key parts of the Brexit deal within weeks.<\/p>\n
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Boris Johnson\u2019s government agreed the trade deal with the EU in 2019 after the UK voted to leave the bloc.<\/p>\n
In the event of the UK unilaterally abandoning agreed elements of the deal that create barriers on goods trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the EU has the power to suspend parts of the entire post-Brexit trade deal.<\/p>\n
When asked at the World Economic Forum in Davos whether the EU was drawing up plans to apply tariffs to politically sensitive UK exports, Mr Martin declined to \u201cget into the detail of anything like that, because hopefully, that\u2019s something we don\u2019t ever have to contemplate\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor now I\u2019m simply saying, and I\u2019ve been consistently saying get down there, get into the tunnel, UK government and EU, negotiate and get the technocrats in there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
When asked why at this time of rising inflation the EU was pondering such a move, the Irish prime minister said it was only the UK making threats.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only unilateral move that has been made here has been by the United Kingdom government, which has threatened to tear up an international deal signed with the European Union,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the only threat here. And that\u2019s what\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The taoiseach said a solution between the parties was \u201cdoable\u201d and that French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz \u201cdon\u2019t want minute checks on everything going into Northern Ireland \u2013 they want to resolve this\u201d.<\/p>\n
At the World Economic Forum some of the world\u2019s biggest multinational companies have told the BBC they are already seeking reassurances over the possibility of a trade war between the UK and the EU.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week the Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said \u201conly Putin\u201d would be happy with a disagreement between the EU and UK at this time,\u00a0adding he was trying to \u201ccalm down the situation\u201d.<\/p>\n
The UK\u2019s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, stressing that her priority was a negotiated agreement.<\/p>\n
However, she has outlined plans to table legislation which would override key parts of the Brexit Northern Ireland deal within weeks.<\/p>\n
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