US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Joe Biden has said Northern Ireland must not be a “casualty” of Brexit as the UK Government continues to push through the Internal Markets Bill in the House of Commons.
The UK Government has come under fire from the EU over its Internal Markets Bill which would allow ministers to override parts of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement regarding trade with Northern Ireland.
On Twitter, Biden said: “We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.”
“Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period,” he said.
We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 16, 2020
Any trade deal between the U.S. and U.K. must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period. https://t.co/Ecu9jPrcHL
Meanwhile, the UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said the “politicisation” of Northern Ireland by Brussels in Brexit trade talks is threatening the Good Friday Agreement.
Raab’s comments came after the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, warned Congress would never pass a free trade agreement with the UK if legislation to override the Brexit divorce settlement was to “imperil” the peace process.
The Foreign Secretary, who is in Washington for talks with senior figures, said he had had “very positive discussions” with Republicans and Democrats.
Raab, who will meet Pelosi later on Wednesday, said he had made clear the UK’s “absolute” commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.
“It is a great opportunity to be clear that the threat to the Good Friday Agreement as it is reflected in the Northern Ireland protocol comes from the EU’s politicisation of the issue, and to be clear on how that has happened and why that has happened,” he said following talks with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
“The UK action here is defensive in relation to what the EU is doing, it is precautionary, we haven’t done any of this yet, and it is proportionate.
“What we cannot have is the EU seeking to erect a regulatory border down the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and Britain.”
Additional reporting by PA
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