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PA Media
Mr Rabe wore a face mask with Union Jack when he met with French and German ministers in Kent last week.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Washington are in Washington, D.C., to try to reassure U.S. politicians about the recent Brexit developments.
Some U.S. politicians are concerned about the UK government’s plans to override parts of the Brexit divorce deal.
Mr Rabb will meet US Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said last week that UK-US trade would not happen if the Good Friday agreement was scrapped.
No. 10 does not say that the 1998 peace agreement will be valid in all circumstances.
Mr. Rabb met his U.S. counterpart, Mike Pompeo, as well as Democratic Congresswoman M.S. Leading politicians are to meet, including Pelosi, who is the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Threats to UK-US trade deals
Washington’s meetings are expected to be high on Brexit’s agenda.
Earlier this week, its first parliamentary hurdle was cleared by the Internal Markets Bill.
The proposed law would give the UK government the power to override part of the Brexit withdrawal deal – which Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to with the EU last October.
It now faces further scrutiny in the House of Commons, and also needs to be passed by the House of Lords.
If enacted, the law would violate international law – a possibility that drew an angry response from senior U.S. officials last week.
- What happened to Brexit?
Ms Pelosi said that if the UK violates international law and rejects the Brexit Good Friday Agreement – the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement – the US-UK trade is unlikely to pass Congress.
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On Tuesday, four senior congressmen issued a similar warning, saying the UK-US trade deal would be blocked if the UK failed to maintain the benefits of the Good Friday agreement.
In a letter to Mr Johnson, the four congressmen said plans to empower ministers to override part of Ukraine’s exit agreement – designed to avoid a tight Irish border – could have “good Friday agreements and catastrophic consequences for peace.” .
The letter added: “We urge you to abandon any and all legally questionable and unjust attempts to hit the protocol of the Northern Ireland Protocol to the withdrawal agreement and urge that Brexit negotiations not add to the decades of progress in bringing peace to Northern Ireland.” .
The letter was signed by members of the Democratic Congress, Eliot Angle, Richard Neal, and Bill Keating, who spoke on behalf of the U.S. It was signed by all the presiding committees of the House of Representatives, as well as Peter King, a member of the Republican Congress.
In response to the letter, No. 10 said its bill would ensure that the Good Friday Agreement is “valid in all circumstances and that harmful defaults do not inadvertently enter into a role that jeopardizes the vast benefits of the peace process.”
“We are committed to a strict border and no border structure between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. This is a legal safety net and will not suddenly impose East-West checks that are in direct opposition to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.”
A spokesman for No. 10 added: “We will continue to engage with our US partners on a bilateral basis to ensure that our position is understood and that we agree to trade deals with broad support in the US.”
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EPA
The Good Friday agreement cannot be allowed to “disrupt” Brexit, Ms Pelosi said.
In his talks on Wednesday, Mr Rabe is expected to argue that the government’s plans are cautious and proportionate – and in response to what ministers describe as EU threats to block food imports.
Amid the ongoing transatlantic tensions over Iran, Mr. Rabb will also meet Mr. Pompeo.
The US Secretary of State recently accused the UK and its European allies of “supporting Ayatollah” in blocking further UN sanctions on Iran.
