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There is \u201cno chance\u201d of a US-UK trade deal succeeding if Brexit jeopardizes the Good Friday Agreement, the speaker of the US House of Representatives has warned.<\/p>\nThere is \u201cno chance\u201d of a US-UK trade deal succeeding if Brexit jeopardizes the Good Friday Agreement, the speaker of the US House of Representatives has warned.<\/p>\n
Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, has said that the party will block the deal in Congress if the UK\u2019s departure from the European Union \u201cundermines\u201d the peace accord in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Ms Pelosi, whose party controls the house, was reaffirming her commitment after Donald Trump\u2019s national security adviser said during a visit to London that the UK would be \u201cfirst in line\u201d for a deal.<\/p>\n
Border controls may be imposed on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal, which is seen as a threat to the Belfast Agreement that ended decades of bloodshed.<\/p>\n
And the chances of the UK\u2019s departure without a deal have been seen as increasingly likely after Boris Johnson made his \u201cdo or die\u201d pledge to leave by the October 31 deadline.<\/p>\n
Ms Pelosi said: \u201cWhatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday Agreement, including the seamless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, especially now, as the first generation born into the hope of Good Friday 21 years ago comes into adulthood. We cannot go back.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing the Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe peace of the Good Friday Agreement is treasured by the American people and will be fiercely defended on a bicameral and bipartisan basis in the United States Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n
If a deal is to be approved in the US it must pass both chambers of the Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate.<\/p>\n
The Senate is controlled by Republicans supportive of the US President, but Ms Pelosi\u2019s party has a firm grip on the House.<\/p>\n
John Bolton, the national security adviser, said the trans-Atlantic trade deal could be brokered on a \u201cgradual sector-by-sector\u201d basis.<\/p>\n
His words prompted the Prime Minister to say that he expects negotiating the agreement would be a \u201ctough old haggle\u201d but that he remains confident that the UK \u201cwill get there.”<\/p>\n