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High-level Democrats have warned that any attempt by the UK government to backtrack on the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland would jeopardize a future US-UK free trade deal and could hamper bilateral ties in across the board if Joe Biden wins the presidency.
Biden, an Irish-American, is a staunch supporter of the Good Friday Agreement, of which the United States is the guarantor and which requires an open border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“[Joe Biden] is committed to preserving the hard-won peace and stability in Northern Ireland. While the UK and the EU work out their relationship, any arrangement must protect the Good Friday Agreement and prevent the return of a hard border, ”said Biden’s senior foreign policy adviser, Antony Blinken. said on Twitter On tuesday night.
People close to the Democratic presidential hopeful said any move by the UK from those parts of the EU withdrawal agreement that put the 1998 peace deal at risk would present a major impediment to a close relationship between London and Washington in the event of a presidency. of Biden.
Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means committee, which would have a decisive influence on the ratification of a trade deal, said British officials had repeatedly assured him that there was no threat to the open border between the two Ireland.
“This came out of nowhere, no one was talking about this 72 hours ago,” Neal told the Guardian. “Joe Biden fully shares my position on this issue … It will be a very significant issue and I have also reiterated time and again to the UK government that I cannot imagine we could develop a bilateral trade relationship if there were any return to a border hard “.
Democratic officials also said that if Boris Johnson proceeded with legislation that his own government admits would violate international law, it would cast doubt on the UK’s reliability as a partner.
Even if Donald Trump were to secure a second term, bipartisan support for the Good Friday deal in Congress would likely thwart any hope for the UK to seal a swift free trade deal after Brexit.
“The Good Friday Agreement and the broader peace process must be protected if the UK has any hope of gaining Congressional support for a possible US-UK free trade agreement,” said Eliot Engel, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.
“While I deeply value the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, it is outrageous that Prime Minister Johnson is considering voiding critical parts of the withdrawal agreement that give Northern Ireland special customs considerations,” Engel said in a statement sent by email.
“These steps are necessary to avoid a hard border on the island and get Northern Ireland back on the fast track to potential violence. I urge Prime Minister Johnson to abide by the legally binding agreements that the UK agreed to and call on the UK and the EU to continue to negotiate in good faith to seek a smooth transition to Brexit. “
Diplomatic sources in the United States suggested that the UK government may not have fully thought through the ramifications of its abrupt announcement and had been puzzled by the pushback in Washington.
“It is amazing that Johnson even considers doing this. It’s breaking the only red line that Biden has when it comes to Brexit, which is to protect the Good Friday Agreement, “said Thomas Wright, director of the Center for America and Europe at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “If you take this route, the Irish border will dominate the first six months of UK relations with a Biden administration and destroy any prospect of a much-needed restart in the relationship.”
Kim Darroch, a former UK ambassador to Washington, said: “It could have a free trade agreement, it could even be negotiated by a Republican president and be blocked in the House of Representatives.”
Darroch told BBC Newsnight that he was “not surprised to see a government lawyer resign because we abide by international agreements. It’s one of the things we stand for. “
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