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Senior lawmakers in Washington are calling for a reinvigoration of trade talks between the US and UK, after Britain and the EU struck a deal over Northern Ireland that removes a huge source of tension between Washington and London.
The push comes after members of Congress from both sides of the aisle applauded the Windsor framework on post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland as a turning point in the bilateral relationship between the US and the UK, and a sign that a more pragmatic leadership had returned to the British government under prime minister Rishi Sunak.
“Ever since the Brexit vote, which was now seven years ago, the biggest stumbling block has by far been the Northern Ireland issue, and the fact that the UK and the US did not see exactly eye to eye,” Brendan Boyle, a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania, told the FT.
“There is no question that a major irritant in the bilateral US UK relationship has been taken off the table,” he added.
“I think hopefully with this behind us, in short order there will be [trade] discussions,” added Bill Keating, a Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts.
Chris Coons, the Democratic senator from Delaware and a close ally of US president Joe Biden, introduced legislation on Thursday that would give the president the authority to negotiate a free trade agreement with the UK.
The bill would give Biden two years, or until a few months into a hypothetical second term, to secure an agreement and fast-track a vote in Congress to approve any deal. The proposal was co-sponsored by John Thune, a senator from South Dakota who is the second-most senior Republican in the upper chamber of Congress.
“The resolution of the special status of Northern Ireland post Brexit was a necessary precondition to the negotiation . . . now that is done, we think the time is right for FTA negotiations between the US and UK,” said one congressional aide.
Thune said the proposal — which would need to be approved by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by Biden — marked an “important step towards a strong and hopefully longstanding trade agreement with the world’s fifth-largest economy”.
Biden, a proud Irish-American, welcomed the Windsor framework earlier this week, issuing a lengthy statement saying he was “proud of the role the United States has played for decades to help achieve, preserve, and strengthen” the peace enshrined in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
The president said he looked forward to “continuing to work closely” with Northern Ireland, the British and Irish governments and the EU “to further that peace and prosperity”.
Katherine Tai, the US Trade Representative, told Bloomberg on Thursday that the Biden administration had “observed” the breakthrough in Windsor “with a great amount of interest”. She added her office would “continue to pursue our ongoing dialogues with the UK, while remaining very interested in how the Windsor agreement is finalised and implemented”.
Although Biden has sought to resolve some of the trade disputes with US allies that raged during the Trump administration, he has not pushed for big steps to liberalise trade. But Keating said Biden understood the need to strengthen America’s allies economically, particularly in light of rising competition with China.
“Even for President Biden, who’s not a free trader, I think he sees a benefit of moving forward, but it’s incremental maybe,” Keating said.
The White House has not yet said whether Biden will travel to Northern Ireland to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement next month.
Chris Murphy, the Democratic senator from Connecticut, said the agreement’s preservation had been “clearly a priority” for the US and Washington had been “pushing for the [Northern Ireland] protocol to get worked out”.
But Murphy cautioned that any presidential visit could be contingent on the restoration of the Northern Ireland assembly at Stormont.
“It would certainly seem to be a pretty important moment for a high level American delegation if the protocol is in effect and government Stormont is restored,” Murphy said. “It would be hard for there to be a high level American delegation in Belfast if there is no government in Belfast.”
Keating said knowing Biden’s history, travelling to Northern Ireland next month was “something he would want to do” but a lot would depend on the president’s other commitments.
Regardless, there was relief in Washington, particularly among Democrats and within the Biden administration, that Sunak had ushered in a less ideological government in the UK compared to those of his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, and would be easier to work with.
“I think that the new prime minister is a person whose background was to deal with the economy, he knew he had to get this issue behind him to move other issues forward,” said Keating. “He was very realistic.”
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