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The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, warned that “there will be absolutely no chance for Congress to pass a trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom” if the United Kingdom violates an international treaty and Brexit undermines the Belfast Agreement.
In a statement to The Irish Times on Wednesday night, Pelosi said the UK must “respect the Northern Ireland Protocol signed with the EU to ensure the free flow of goods across the border.”
“The Good Friday Agreement is the cornerstone of peace in Northern Ireland and an inspiration to the whole world,” he said.
“Regardless of what form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to jeopardize the Good Friday Agreement, including the stability provided by the invisible and frictionless border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.”
“If the UK violates that international treaty and Brexit undermines the Good Friday deal, there will be absolutely no chance that a US-UK trade deal will be approved by Congress. The Good Friday Agreement is a treasure of the American people and will be proudly defended in the United States Congress. “
The intervention on Wednesday night by Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, is likely to increase pressure on the British government over its controversial decision to backtrack on parts of the Brexit withdrawal deal it agreed with the European Union last year. .
It reflects growing unease at the highest level of US policy at the apparent U.K. government reversal of previously agreed commitments on Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations.
Both the Irish and British governments have been in contact with high-level figures in all branches of government in Washington in the last 24 hours, following an unexpected move by the Boris Johnson government to publish national legislation that apparently nullifies some elements. of the withdrawal agreement signed last. year.
It comes as Richard Neal, chairman of the Ways and Means committee, told The Irish Times that a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom “just won’t happen” if a hard border returns.
Mr. Neal, who has significant authority over US trade policy as chairman of the Ways and Means committee of the House of Representatives, said of the British government: “I think they are making a terrible miscalculation. A trade deal between the United States and Britain just won’t happen if they restore a hard border. “
“What they are missing here, and maybe they need a reminder of how bad things were 30 years ago,” he told the Irish Times.
He said that all parties in the North had given up something during the complex negotiations on the Belfast Agreement more than 20 years ago. “The Republic of Ireland renounced articles 2 and 3 of the constitution, the unionist community accepted a Belfast-Dublin connection that required the elimination of the border.”
“I think elimination today has become a model of how old conflicts can be resolved,” noting that two generations in Northern Ireland have now grown up without the problems.
Although the executive arm of the United States government negotiates trade agreements, congressional approval is also required. It is understood that Mr. Neal has already made it clear to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that the Northern Ireland issue must be resolved in order for the Ways and Means commission to adopt the legislation in the House. Mr. Neal is also in regular contact with the British Ambassador to Washington, Karen Pierce, and members of the British government and spoke with the Secretary of Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, last week.
Furthermore, the ad hoc committee to protect the Belfast Accord, a group of high-ranking former Irish-American foreign policy officials, ambassadors and members of Congress, warned that the Belfast Accord should not be viewed as “a currency of change”.
“We believe that the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Withdrawal Agreement is a hard-won commitment that requires the respect of all parties given its status as an International Agreement,” the association said in a statement. “Political leaders and trade negotiators can rattle all they want as they seek to negotiate a much-needed trade deal, but the Good Friday Agreement cannot be seen as a bargaining chip.”
While Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has yet to comment publicly on the latest development in the controversial Brexit negotiations, his foreign policy adviser Tony Blinken has warned that the Belfast Accord must be protected.
“Joe Biden is committed to preserving the hard-won peace and stability in Northern Ireland,” he wrote on Twitter. “As the UK and the EU work on their relationship, any arrangement must protect the Good Friday Agreement and prevent the return of a hard border.”
While US President Donald Trump strongly supports Brexit and is seen as an ally of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Biden has a keen interest in Irish affairs and is a committed internationalist who supports the European Union already NATO.
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