UK-US post Brexit trade deal 'very unlikely' if N. Ireland peace accord disturbed: Pelosi

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned the UK on September 17 that the US-UK trade deal was "very unlikely" until the Boris Johnson-led government solves the post-Brexit disagreements with the European Union (EU) that threaten peace in Northern Ireland. Months after Britain’s official exit from the 27-nation bloc, London and Brussels are still at odds over trade arrangements that have pleased checks on goods coming to Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK. These checks were agreed by both sides in their Brexit deal to monitor the open land border between North and the EU member Ireland.

However, Britain has said that the new checks are onerous and expressed its willingness to rewrite the agreement. EU, on the other hand, has refused to renegotiate. The United States played a crucial role in securing Northern Ireland’s 1998 Good Friday peace accord. Now, Pelosi on Friday, while visiting the UK, cautioned Britain against taking any measures that undermine the peace settlement. The US House Speaker met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at his 10 Downing St. residence on Thursday.

British PM’s office said in a statement that Johnson “outlined the UK concerns with the way the (Northern Ireland) Protocol is being implemented and the impact it is having on the people of Northern Ireland.” Meanwhile, Pelosi told an audience at Chatham House think-tank that a trans-Atlantic trade deal was “very unlikely” if the Good Friday Accord was hampered. She added that it was “not a threat, it’s a prediction.” The US House Speaker also hailed UK and EU for agreeing to keep talking in an attempt to resolve their differences.

“I’m so glad that more time has been given for the negotiations and the discussion because they have to reach an agreement,” she said.

Northern Ireland trade and UK-EU tensions

Since the UK left the decades-old economic embrace of the 27-nation-bloc formally at the end of 2020, the relations between both sides have escalated especially concerning the trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. After Brexit, Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which shares a land border with the bloc. However, according to the post-Brexit deal agreed between London and Brussels, customs and border checks must be conducted on some goods moving between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. 

While the regulations were kept intact in order to practice an open border between Northern Ireland and the EU member Ireland, the rules have made British unionists reportedly angry as according to them, the regulations amount to a border in the Irish Sea and weakens the ties with rest of the UK. Britain has already been accused by the EU of taking a “purist” approach to the rules.

IMAGE: AP