Senior US politician: Post-Brexit trade deal ‘desirable’, but not if it ‘jeopardises’ Good Friday Agreement
One of the most powerful American politicians has dismissed any post-Brexit trade deal that risks peace in Northern Ireland.
The chair of the ways and means committee, Congressman Richard Neal, said the United States “will not entertain” any proposal that undermines the Good Friday Agreement.
Speaking to The Guardian, the 73-year-old Democrat who heads the important tax committee said an agreement would be avoided “if there is any jeopardy” to the arrangement struck over Northern Ireland.
Speaking about a possible deal between post-Brexit Britain and the US, Neal told the Guardian it was “desirable – there’s no question about that.
“But what I’m not open to is holding the Good Friday agreement hostage over domestic politics.”
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement promoted stronger trading ties between the north and republic of Ireland, and with Britain. Critics of Brexit say this might be threatened because Ireland is in the EU, and the north is not, meaning the return to a hard border.