US-UK trade deal at risk if Brexit undermines Good Friday Agreement - Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Picture: AP Photo/Susan Walsh

A leading US politician is warning the UK not to let Brexit undermine the Good Friday Agreement.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has warned Britain there will be “no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing” Congress if it is.

Earlier this week, the UK government said it is drafting legislation that will override key elements of the Brexit deal agreed with the EU, in breach of international law.

The Internal Market Bill would allow the UK to "dis-apply" the agreed legal framework which gives EU law supremacy over the UK in areas covered by the Withdrawal Agreement.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement, Northern Ireland will stay part of the EU single market for goods in order to avoid creating a hard border.  

On Wednesday, Ms Pelosi issued a warning to the UK over the Internal Market Bill.

“The Good Friday Agreement is the bedrock of peace in Northern Ireland and an inspiration for the whole world," she said.  

“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.   

“The UK must respect the Northern Ireland Protocol as signed with the EU to ensure the free flow of goods across the border.

“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.  

“The Good Friday Agreement is treasured by the American people and will be proudly defended in the United States Congress.” 

Earlier today, the Irish government announced that Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke to UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson by phone.

Mr Martin “set out in forthright terms his concerns about latest developments in London on Brexit, including the breach of an international treaty, the absence of bilateral engagement and the serious implications for Northern Ireland.

“He stressed to the PM that the UK government should re-engage with EU negotiators urgently."

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney warned that Northern Ireland is "too fragile and too important" to be used as a pawn by the UK Government in Brexit talks.