[1] It is one of several pieces of legislation concerning trade that were passed following the European Union membership referendum, as after Brexit the UK is no longer directly subject to EU law.

[20] Eventually, the UK government made changes to make it more flexible, and also withdrew some provisions in Part 5 (relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Brexit withdrawal agreement) that had attracted controversy because of their impact on the rule of law.

According to estimates published by the European Commission, more than half of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland's trade is with the other parts of the UK, in both exports and imports.

After lengthy negotiations, it left on 1 February 2020, but under the agreed withdrawal agreement it remained a part of the European Single Market until the end of a transition period lasting until 31 December 2020.

The Joint Committee shall keep the application of this paragraph under constant review and shall adopt appropriate recommendations with a view to avoiding controls at the ports and airports of Northern Ireland to the extent possible.

A key function of the common frameworks, agreed at the meeting, is to:[33] enable the functioning of the UK internal market, while acknowledging policy divergenceThe common frameworks are a mechanism for the UK and devolved governments to mutually agree some amount of regulatory consistency for policy areas where returning EU powers are within devolved competence.

That legislation allows the UK government to restrict devolved competence by way of regulations, but puts the onus on Whitehall to specify particular powers it intends to protect from modification.

[9] The UK Government claimed shortly after publication of the white paper that the legislation and related common frameworks were a "power surge" for the devolved administrations.

[48] The impact assessment published alongside the bill states: "The final cost of this legislation is the potentially reduced ability for different parts of the UK to achieve local policy benefits.

The government said that the decision to do so was prompted by potential bans on the sale of GB agri-food products in Northern Ireland, should trade negotiations with the European Union fail.

This ‘dualist’ approach is shared by other, similar legal systems […].Senior members of the bar and the judiciary, including the former President of the Supreme Court, David Neuberger, criticised the clause that would prevent any judicial review of its operation.

Clause 42 would have empowered ministers to make secondary legislation about the application of exit procedures or a description of goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

[20] In December after multiple defeats in the House of Lords, the UK government made changes which they said would allow a certain amount of divergence from the internal market rules for the devolved administrations, where these were agreed through the common frameworks.

[79] The act gives the UK Government the ability to directly spend on projects within Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, even if those policy areas normally fall under devolved competence.

This means that these standards will have little or no practical effect other than to disadvantage their own economy, severely restricting their ability to introduce regulatory divergence, or pursue different economic or social choices to those made in Westminster.

[50] Christopher Stalford, a DUP assembly-member for South Belfast said in Stormont on 14 September 2020 that "there is great rejoicing over one sinner that repents" – a biblical reference to Johnson's proposed change of heart on the Northern Ireland Protocol.

[85] The DUP's chief whip at Westminster, Sammy Wilson, told BBC Radio Ulster that he would "reserve judgement" until he saw the bill in full, but that the "Northern Ireland question was back on the agenda".

[50] The SNP's Westminster Leader Ian Blackford said to Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions on 9 September 2020 that he was "creating a rogue state where the rule of law does not apply"[50] and that "the time for Scotland's place as an independent, international, law-abiding nation is almost here".

Devolution Since the Brexit Referendum The Welsh Government has described it as "an attack on democracy and an affront to the people of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland" and accused Westminster of "stealing powers".

"[50] Members of the Commons and the Lords, on both sides of the Houses, expressed their concern at those clauses of the bill that would seek to set aside unilaterally the Northern Ireland protocol of the UK's withdrawal agreement.

The bill drew criticism from all five living former prime ministers: John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and Theresa May.

[93] Similarly, former Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid, who both, until February 2020, served in Johnson's government and are both Conservative MPs, have also said that they cannot support the bill.

The right of litigants to go to court to protect their rights and ensure that the government complies with its legal obligation is fundamental to any system ... You could be going down a very slippery slope.Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC, who lost his seat after his Conservative whip was removed for rebelling against Johnson in September 2019, said that this "ouster clause ... goes to the heart of parliamentary democracy", preventing the government being challenged over its actions.

[69] In a letter to The Financial Times on 19 October 2020, the Primates of the Anglican Communion churches of the four nations of the United Kingdom said that the bill would "create a disastrous precedent" by "equip[ping] a government minister to break international law.

"[105] The British Retail Consortium's head of devolved nations said in response to the BEIS white paper "We must not lose sight of the fact that consumers and our economy as a whole benefits enormously from the UK's largely unfettered internal single market, as economies of scale and regulatory consistency helps reduce business costs which in turn keeps down shop prices and provides greater consumer choice.

"[106] British Chambers of Commerce set out their view as follows: "a fragmented system would create additional costs, bureaucracy and supply chain challenges that could disrupt operations for firms across the UK.

Codifying the UK Internal Market in law for continuity purposes after Brexit is an important aim, but further clarity is still needed for directors to understand the full practical operation of them.

However, directors will be wary of any moves that could increase the likelihood of no deal.After The Financial Times had sight of the bill on 6 September and said that Government of the UK appeared intent on breaking international law, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Johnson not to break international law, saying that the UK's implementation of the withdrawal agreement was a "prerequisite for any future partnership".

[112] On 1 October 2020, the European Commission sent to the UK Government "a letter of formal notice for breaching its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement" because the latter's refusal to remove the contentious clauses in the bill.

"[115] The Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said "if the U.K. violates that international treaty and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be absolutely no chance of a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement passing the Congress".