Breach may hit US trade deal if Biden is President

ANY attempt by Britain to breach international law on Brexit could jeopardise a future trade deal with the US, senior American politicians have warned.

Democrats said that if Boris Johnson backtracks on the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU on Northern Ireland, it could hobble US-UK relations if Joe Biden wins the presidential election in November.

Mr Biden, an Irish-American, is a staunch defender of the Good Friday Agreement, of which the US is guarantor. The agreement requires an open border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Critics of the British Government’s plan to override parts of the Brexit divorce deal say it will increase the likelihood of a hard border in Ireland. Antony Blinken, Mr

Biden’s chief foreign policy adviser, tweeted: ‘[Joe Biden] is committed to preserving the hard-earned peace and stability in Northern Ireland.

‘As the UK and EU work out their relationship, any arrangements must protect the Good Friday Agreement and prevent the return of a hard border.’

Democratic Congressman Richard Neal, chairman of the House ways and means committee – which would have a decisive influence on ratification of a US-UK trade deal – said he had been repeatedly assured by British officials that there was no threat to the open border.

He added: ‘This came out of the clear blue... I have reiterated time and again to the UK Government that I can’t imagine we could develop a bilateral trade relationship if there was any return to a hard border.’