Brexit WARNING: US senators threaten to block UK trade deal in letter to Boris Johnson

The American politicians wrote a letter to the Prime Minister today urging him to reconsider the legislation, citing ‘grave concern’ over the bill’s Northern Ireland protocol.

In their letter, they told the Prime Minister they are “disturbed” by the Internal Market Bill over fears it could have “disastrous consequences for the Good Friday Agreement”, and warned the bill could see a US/UK trade deal dropped.

Citing US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the congressmen said: “The United States will not support any free trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom if the United Kingdom fails to preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement and broader peace process?

The congressmen also said their chief issue with the proposed bill would be how it impacts the Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998.

The letter added: “We appreciate the challenges that your country faces as it stares down the October 15th deadline for a negotiated agreement - but an Ireland divided by a hard border risks inflaming old tensions that very much still fester today and undoing decades of work that the United States, Republic of Ireland, and United Kingdom achieved together.

The congressmen concluded their letter by urging Mr Johnson to “abandon any and all legally questionable and unfair efforts to flourish the Northern Ireland protocol of the Withdrawal Agreement”.

The congressmen’s letter to Mr Johnson follows Ms Pelosi’s attack on the Internal Market Bill last week.

The House of Representatives Speaker said in a statement: “Whatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday Agreement, including the stability brought by the invisible and frictionless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

“If the UK violates that international treaty and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be absolutely no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing the Congress.”.