08/09/22

US: Government warns truce against unilateral changes to Brexit treaty.

As published on nationworldnews.com, Wednesday 7 September, 2022.

The United States has warned new British Prime Minister Liz Truss against unilateral changes to the Brexit treaty with the European Union. US government spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said today that any attempt to undermine the Northern Ireland deal would negatively affect UK-US trade talks. While she was foreign secretary, Truss put forward legislation designed to overturn the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The British government negotiated the Northern Ireland Protocol as part of its exit from the European Union. It provides for special customs rules for Northern Ireland to keep the sensitive border between the British Province of Ireland and the EU state of Ireland open – as well as to prevent a re-flagration of Northern Ireland conflict. However, the agreement created a de facto customs boundary in the Irish Sea, separating Northern Ireland from the rest of Britain. This caused, among other things, distribution problems and much outrage in Great Britain.

The law amending the Northern Ireland Protocol cleared the first parliamentary hurdle with a vote in the House of Commons in late June. In addition to tax changes and a labeling system for goods, it also stipulates that the European Court of Justice should no longer be responsible for disputes related to the implementation of Brexit. The EU strongly criticizes the project and threatens to go to the European Court of Justice.

In a phone call to Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz last night, Truss pushed for the resolution of the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol. A day earlier, US President Joe Biden insisted in a telephone call to Truss that peace be maintained in Northern Ireland and a settlement with the European Union be reached, according to the presidential office.