Reps KEATING, WILD, NEAL, BOYLE Statement On Northern Ireland Protocol

“The move is only the latest in a series of provocative actions, such as the introduction of the Internal Market Bill, taken by the United Kingdom undermining the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was a crucial aspect of the Brexit negotiations. By extension, these actions have also endangered the fragile underlying architecture for peace in the region—the historic 1998 Good Friday Agreement. In doing so, the United Kingdom is impeding any possibility of progress on potential trade agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union as well as the United States.

“We echo President Biden’s commitment that, “Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the [Good Friday] Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period,” as well as Speaker Pelosi’s statement that there is “absolutely no chance” of an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom passing if the Good Friday Agreement is undermined.

“As members of Congress who are strongly dedicated to the peace process in Northern Ireland and to forging new opportunities for expanding trade and cooperation in areas that will benefit workers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, we affirm our support for the European Union’s efforts to protect both regional peace and their own regulatory standards.

“As the European Union vows to pursue legal action over this decision, we urge the United Kingdom to immediately defuse tensions by respecting all agreements made with the EU and working with EU officials to ensure the continuation of peace and cooperation that the Good Friday Agreement set out to achieve more than twenty years ago.”