British legislators Monday published a Reformed Northern Ireland Protocol to tackle disruption to post-Brexit trade with EU nations like Ireland. The original protocol aimed to keep Northern Ireland aligned with the EU market to avoid a hard border between the province and the EU. However, this policy would result in higher checks for goods between Northern Ireland and the three other provinces of the United Kingdom. The new protocol was introduced in order to resolve this issue.

The new legislation would introduce green and red lanes for products staying and entering the EU, respectively. It will further implement robust penalties for those attempting to abuse the system. British businesses will be free to choose between meeting UK or EU standards. Finally, the protocol will seek to address governance-related issues, by aligning the original Protocol with international norms and resolve disputes via dialogue as opposed to arbitration.

The new Protocol has been met with a significant amount of opposition, with the majority of MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly signing a joint letter to PM Boris Johnson. The MLAs expressed that the original Protocol amounted to “the only available protections… from the worst impacts of a hard Brexit.” Furthermore, though the revised Protocol was initially intended as an alignment with international norms, US Congressman Brendan Boyle published a statement opining that it “clearly violates international law.”