US Speaker Says Post Brexit US, UK Deal Unlikely If Good Friday Agreement Weakens

Nancy Pelosi, US Speaker of the House, started an official visit to Ireland. In case of Good Friday Agreement weakening, no post-Brexit US-UK deal can possibly be reached, she said. A delegation of Republican and Democrat congressmen and women will accompany her when she meets Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, the Irish Prime Minister on Tuesday. The delegation will likely reach Northern Ireland during the latter part of this week. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998, as explained by Mrs. Pelosi, is a model with no provision for bargaining. The agreement had brought to an end 7 centuries of disputes and conflicts. One of the reasons behind UK leaving EU was its desire to strike separate trade deals with nations across the globe.

The aim of Mrs. Pelosi’s trip to the Republic of Ireland is to gather more knowledge about Ireland and UK’s future amid Brexit, both of which countries share a good relation with the US. She met Tánaiste Simon Coveney, Deputy Prime Minister, after reaching Ireland and will deliver her address to both the houses at the Irish Parliament, Oireachtas, after meeting both the Irish government and the opposition politicians on Wednesday, the day which marks the 100^th anniversary of the lower house of the Irish parliament, Dáil. The delegation, along with Nancy Pelosi, is also scheduled to meet Michael D Higgins, the Irish President, at Árasan Uachtaráin, his official residence, in Phoenix Park of Dublin. Post the meetings, on Wednesday evening, a state dinner will be organized in Dublin castle for honoring the delegation and Mrs. Nancy Pelosi and will include Congressman Brendan Boyle and Richard Neal, the chairman of the house ways and means committee.

No details of the visit of the delegation to Northern Ireland have been finalized yet. The European trip includes visits to London and Stuttgart as well. American President Donald Trump is also expected to visit Ireland during the latter half of 2019.