NANCY Pelosi has warned that no free trade agreement will be made between the UK and USA if the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) is not respected.
Pelosi stated that the GFA's integrity must take precedence over any post-Brexit arrangements as the UK seeks both a free trade deal with the US and changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.
She made the comments after visiting Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, during her visit to the UK last week.
According to The Mirror, she said: “Our relationship in regards to trade is dependent on the value of the Good Friday accords.
“We want to see the Good Friday accords honoured and the border to remain the way it is.
"I don't expect a bilateral trade agreement with the UK if there is an unravelling of the Good Friday accords in relationship to the border."
Her comments come as the UK Government has indicated that it wants to alter the Northern Ireland Protocol which secures the GFA post-Brexit.
READ MORE: Brexit: UK has broken trust with EU over Northern Ireland Protocol
The protocol allows goods to be moved between Northern Ireland and the Republic without checks, instead forcing goods to be inspected between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland. This is to get around barriers to trade between non-Eu member states and the EU while also preserving the GFA.
The UK freely signed up to the protocol in 2019 but now says that it is being applied too rigidly by the EU. The arrangement is deeply unpopular with many unionist politicians as it is perceived to compromise the unity of the UK.
READ MORE: Northern Ireland Protocol: UK and EU post-Brexit talks continue
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said that if the protocol cannot be changed to favour the UK, then the Government will use provisions within it, namely article 16, to unilaterally suspend it.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph last month, she said: “I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions, including article 16, I am willing to do that.”
While the EU has offered some concessions, it has stated that a renegotiation of the text of the protocol is impossible.
It is unlikely that President Biden will entertain any trade deals with the UK while the fates of the GFA and Northern Ireland Protocol are still in question.
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