Liz Truss resists pressure from a close ally of Joe Biden not to rewrite the Brexit protocol for Northern Ireland, saying she will not allow the dead end to “drag on”.
The foreign minister is facing concerted pressure from senior US politicians on the issue. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has already warned that she could jeopardize any hopes of a free trade agreement with America.
The protocol, which is part of the 2019 divorce treaty with the European Union, is intended to avoid placing a trade and customs border across the island of Ireland instead of placing it in the Irish Sea. The unions say it undermines Northern Ireland’s position in the United Kingdom and Downing Street is threatening to unilaterally change or even drop the protocol.
Yesterday, Truss faced a delegation led by Congressman Richard Neal, Biden’s senior ally. There are concerns in Washington about tensions between London and Brussels and the impact on the Good Friday agreement if the British government continues to threaten.
Of course, Trus said he was “defending the Good Friday agreement” instead of threatening it. She allegedly said that the protocol had a serious impact and could not allow the “situation to drag on” if the EU did not offer a reasonable solution.
Business groups in Northern Ireland have argued that there is a problem, suggesting that while the arrangements were initially disruptive, they are now softening the region from the impact of Brexit.
Neil led a delegation from the strong committee on roads and congressional funds to the Tres rural retreat in Cheving, Kent. Earlier, he held talks with EU officials in Brussels and met with Keir Starmer, the Labor leader.
The meeting came just days after Trus announced a plan to revise parts of the protocol if a decision on a treaty with the EU fails. The stalemate intensified after the DUP refused to participate in the Northern Ireland power-sharing administration, unless major changes are made to the way the Brexit deal works.
Pelosi’s intervention, which warned Boris Johnson that the protocol was needed to maintain the peace deal in Northern Ireland, was followed by a warning from Derek Cholet, a senior adviser to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. He called on Britain to avoid a “big battle” with the EU and called on both sides to “refrain from unilateral action”.
Some Tory MPs say they have become confused about the government’s position on the Northern Ireland Protocol, suspecting a split between Truss, who wants to take an aggressive approach, and some on Downing Street, who are believed to be more cautious to provoke a major dispute with the EU, Dublin and Washington. Connor Burns, Minister for Northern Ireland, has been appointed Special Envoy for the Northern Ireland Protocol to the United States. He traveled to Washington earlier this month to hold “candid” discussions with his American counterparts.
In Dublin and Washington, there are hopes that Trus’s threats are just a negotiation tactic. Its plan includes the introduction of a “green channel” that will allow some goods to pass unchecked from the UK to Northern Ireland, provided they do not end up in the Republic of Ireland. This will give the UK more power to change VAT in Northern Ireland. However, the EU considers the agreement inherently risky.
So far, the EU has refused to allow any negotiations to reopen the protocol, instead offering a package to free trade with the province.
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