British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will present a proposal to Parliament on Monday to lift trade rules between Britain and Northern Ireland, much to the chagrin of the European Union.
When Britain left the EU, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to a protocol under which Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom but shares a land border with EU member state Ireland, will remain part of the European single market. This allowed the border with Ireland to remain open, thus complying with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
At the same time, the deal included customs regulations between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. That would have damaged trade relations within the United Kingdom and caused political instability in Northern Ireland, Johnson said.
Among other things, Truss’s proposal is expected to provide that goods can move freely between Great Britain and Northern Ireland without customs inspections and that rules that prevent Northern Ireland from taking advantage of certain tax breaks will be lifted.
Brussels is not happy
In Brussels, people are not happy with such unilateral action by the British. Maros Sefcovic, vice president of the European Commission, already said in May that Brussels would respond with all the measures at its disposal if Britain unilaterally canceled the deal.
Sinn Fein, the nationalist party that won a historic election in Northern Ireland last month, said Britain would “without doubt” be violating international law if it unilaterally canceled the deal.
US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said there would be no free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom if London lifts trade rules with Northern Ireland.
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