It’s not really a trade spat, is it? It’s a diplomatic conflict. The EU is saying that the UK is breaking the Withdrawal Agreement, and has threatened trade sanctions and political retaliation if the UK does not uphold its obligations. To that effect it has initiated various legal proceedings. The UK on the other hand has threatened to evoke the temporary emergency procedures of the same treaty, although it is unclear to what purpose.
UK: Taking back control.
US: Not so fast, sonny.
EU: Sigh
This is Suez all over. Have we not learned any lessons?
Biden has already let rip in front of senior British figures.
The tories keep saying the same thing over and over.
“We are doing this to protect the belfast agreement” whilst shitting all over it.
Brexit has been a hilarious look behind the curtain at where the UK actually sits in terms of global power.
I think the Americans are getting the protocol and the GFA mixed up. They haven’t a clue.
Both branches of government and both parties (albeit more noticeable for Democrats) have been pretty on point whenever UK threatened to escalate the issue with the NIP.
This was passed bipartisanly, when Boris tried to add provisions to the Internal Market Bill. This is the “break the law in specific and limited ways” bill
They specifically mention tying any future US-UK trade deal to upholding the GFA. What they do not mention here (yet) is they, like the EU, consider the NIP a core protection of the GFA.
This one was in March 2021, when the “Sausage war” spat was escalating. Again US warns the UK specifically with mention of any future US-UK trade deal is based on integrity of the GFA and therefore the full implementation of the NIP.
One of the first things US did when Biden arrived for the UK G7 meeting was to issue a demarché, a formal rebuke, of Britain’s handling of the NIP, which at the time was again threatening to spiral out into Article 16 threats.
Not any EU member, specifically the UK. And using formal means at that.
The most recent Article 16 threat this fall got a quick US House response. Again more pointed in who they are formally reprimanding.
And now they have negotiated a stand down on Trump era tariffs with the EU while keeping them active on the UK.
Note that their statements have gotten less diplomatic and more direct with every attempt by the UK to escalate. They are also all directed at the UK. They are keenly aware on who is to blame for putting the peace process at risk.
There’s simply too many Irish American swing voters (just voters in general) to ignore. No amount of “we made the economy better with a trade deal,” is going to supersede something as visible as “we allowed the GFA to lapse on our watch.”
Would not be surprised if the Americans begin *adding* to the sanctions already inflicted on the UK with each new claim about triggering Article 16. After all their 2022 election is coming up.
Remember in 2014 a US trade deal was touted as the future and replacing the deals we lost via the EU? Problem is, the English Tory party forgot about Northern Ireland. At best, it was an afterthought. I think rarely in British history has there ever been such a sustained period of political incompetence, dominated by dogma, ignorance and gross negligence. The current generation in power will certainly go into the history books as the generation that squandered Britain’s wealth, economy and actually broke up the UK. Well done Boris.
Britain needs a strong leader and government, not some man who struggles to do basic tasks, Talks about peppa pig land, struggles to speak and is becoming less and less democratic.
10 comments
It’s not really a trade spat, is it? It’s a diplomatic conflict. The EU is saying that the UK is breaking the Withdrawal Agreement, and has threatened trade sanctions and political retaliation if the UK does not uphold its obligations. To that effect it has initiated various legal proceedings. The UK on the other hand has threatened to evoke the temporary emergency procedures of the same treaty, although it is unclear to what purpose.
UK: Taking back control.
US: Not so fast, sonny.
EU: Sigh
This is Suez all over. Have we not learned any lessons?
Biden has already let rip in front of senior British figures.
The tories keep saying the same thing over and over.
“We are doing this to protect the belfast agreement” whilst shitting all over it.
Brexit has been a hilarious look behind the curtain at where the UK actually sits in terms of global power.
I think the Americans are getting the protocol and the GFA mixed up. They haven’t a clue.
Both branches of government and both parties (albeit more noticeable for Democrats) have been pretty on point whenever UK threatened to escalate the issue with the NIP.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-resolution/585/text
This was passed bipartisanly, when Boris tried to add provisions to the Internal Market Bill. This is the “break the law in specific and limited ways” bill
They specifically mention tying any future US-UK trade deal to upholding the GFA. What they do not mention here (yet) is they, like the EU, consider the NIP a core protection of the GFA.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-resolution/117/text
This one was in March 2021, when the “Sausage war” spat was escalating. Again US warns the UK specifically with mention of any future US-UK trade deal is based on integrity of the GFA and therefore the full implementation of the NIP.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/g7-summit-2021-joe-biden-accuses-boris-johnson-of-inflaming-irish-tensions-r88lcv6cg
One of the first things US did when Biden arrived for the UK G7 meeting was to issue a demarché, a formal rebuke, of Britain’s handling of the NIP, which at the time was again threatening to spiral out into Article 16 threats.
Not any EU member, specifically the UK. And using formal means at that.
https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/2021/11/meeks-keating-blumenauer-and-boyle-issue-statement-on-uk-s-threat-to-invoke-article-16-of-the-northern-ireland-protocol
The most recent Article 16 threat this fall got a quick US House response. Again more pointed in who they are formally reprimanding.
And now they have negotiated a stand down on Trump era tariffs with the EU while keeping them active on the UK.
Note that their statements have gotten less diplomatic and more direct with every attempt by the UK to escalate. They are also all directed at the UK. They are keenly aware on who is to blame for putting the peace process at risk.
There’s simply too many Irish American swing voters (just voters in general) to ignore. No amount of “we made the economy better with a trade deal,” is going to supersede something as visible as “we allowed the GFA to lapse on our watch.”
Would not be surprised if the Americans begin *adding* to the sanctions already inflicted on the UK with each new claim about triggering Article 16. After all their 2022 election is coming up.
Remember in 2014 a US trade deal was touted as the future and replacing the deals we lost via the EU? Problem is, the English Tory party forgot about Northern Ireland. At best, it was an afterthought. I think rarely in British history has there ever been such a sustained period of political incompetence, dominated by dogma, ignorance and gross negligence. The current generation in power will certainly go into the history books as the generation that squandered Britain’s wealth, economy and actually broke up the UK. Well done Boris.
Britain needs a strong leader and government, not some man who struggles to do basic tasks, Talks about peppa pig land, struggles to speak and is becoming less and less democratic.