It was also raised in conversations “at different levels of government”, according to the senior administration official. Official US government records show that Northern Ireland was raised by two senior figures with UK ministers in the last week. However, behind the scenes, Washington appears to have been unhappy at the British initiative and to have made its feelings known privately over recent days.Ī senior Biden administration official told The Irish Times on Tuesday that it had raised its concerns over the planned British government legislation “at multiple levels” with the British.Įssentially, in the background the US was urging Johnson’s government not to move unilaterally on the protocol but to try to address any problems through dialogue.
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It wanted to see a deal reached between Brussels and London and a close relationship between the two.īut when press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked at a briefing whether the British move would become an impediment to US-UK trade dialogue or a potential future US-UK trade deal, she replied: “No, I don’t believe it will be.” It made clear it supported the protocol but recognised there were challenges in its implementation. What happens to the Northern Ireland protocol now? Your browser does not support the audio element. However, the White House response seemed to be more muted. The ad hoc group to protect the Belfast Agreement in the United States, which comprises former ambassadors and politicians as well as Irish American groups, accused the British of acting in bad faith and said the US could not be neutral. The majority leader in the senate Chuck Schumer warned that “rash, unilateral actions” that threatened international agreements would undermine support in Congress for any bilateral trade proposal. The British plan was denounced by Irish-American politicians on Capitol Hill.
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In the last week British plans regarding the protocol have again generated anxiety after Boris Johnson’s government in Westminster introduced legislation which would allow it to unilaterally disapply whole elements set out in the text. Exactly a year ago the G7 leaders’ summit came against a backdrop of reports that the US had been highly critical in diplomatic representations to the British government over the Northern Ireland protocol.