EU mulls targeted trade war ‘on troublesome Brexiteer MPs and Tory ministers’

The European Union is considering a targeted trade war on troublesome Brexiteer MPs and Tory ministers, sources told The Telegraph, as the bloc war-gamed its response to Boris Johnson’s plan to override the Northern Ireland Protocol.

A senior diplomatic source said that Brussels has held talks over potential reprisals, including a plan to turn the Prime Minister’s political allies against him if he follows through with his threat to rip up the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.

Under the plan, which is still in its early stages, British products made in "red wall" constituencies, as well as those with elected Cabinet ministers and vocal Brexiteers, face crippling trade tariffs in the hope of generating enough pressure to force Mr Johnson into a U-turn.

A senior EU diplomat told The Telegraph: “It is a longstanding practice of the [European] Commission to target its trade defence policy to avoid contingent effects and to support political objectives.”

Nissan cars, Cadbury chocolate, Heinz ketchup, JCB tractors and Jaguar Land Rover vehicles could all be hit with duty increases as part of retaliatory measures by Brussels.

The same tactic was used by the bloc in a tit-for-tat trade row with Donald Trump, the former US president, during which Brussels targeted Levi’s jeans, Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey with punitive trade tariffs.

EU officials deliberately targeted products manufactured in key Republican states. Orange juice from Florida, a critical swing state in elections, was also hit.

“It was part of the conversation with the US and has been on the table multiple times over the past couple of years whenever the UK threatened to blow up the [Brexit] deal,” the diplomat added.

A source suggested businesses located in the "red wall" constituencies gained by the Tories could be the first to see their exports hit with tariffs, because Mr Johnson is seen as keen to maintain his backing in the area, a source said.

The EU has vowed to respond swiftly by renewing legal action against the UK and potentially even ripping up the trade agreement if Britain moves to introduce legislation that overrides the Protocol.

Britain insists its plans to revoke part of the Brexit deal are being drawn up to protect the Good Friday Agreement, which the Government argues is being “undermined” by the Protocol.

Sources said that Brussels will likely publish its own response when the legislation is made public by the Government at the start of next month.

One EU diplomat said that the bloc would likely respond with full force, because its patience has run out with the Prime Minister’s repeated threats to drop the protocol.

“Johnson has distracted voters for another month from the cost of living crisis, economic troubles, his stalled migration approach and the lingering ‘partygate’,” the diplomat said.

“Every time Johnson needs to play to the gallery, he puts Brexit back on the agenda ... Why should we be the ones to light it for him as well?”

Stephen Kelly, the chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said that the EU’s threat to start a trade war with the UK would break its promises to the province.

Brussels has told business chiefs that its retaliation “will be focused on the ports in GB”, but that would still have a huge knock-on effect for Ulster, he told The Telegraph.

“The EU have consistently said to us if there is a dispute that turns into something more conflict-like, Northern Ireland will be protected from that," he said.

“That wasn’t quite reflected in some of their language that they used in the last few days, which is a concern.”

Talks over the Protocol are expected to resume between Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, and Maros Sefcovic, a vice-president in the European Commission, as early as next week.

Both sides believe that a deal can be done to eliminate the majority of trade checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

However, they are unsure over whether negotiations will prove successful because of the recent acrimony.

Downing Street sees resolving the row over the Protocol as key in securing the DUP’s backing for a Stormont run by Sinn Fein.