The U.K.’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is in Washington Wednesday to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, among other senior officials, as Britain seeks to reassure its U.S. partners on Brexit negotiations.
The visit comes after the U.K. government dropped a Brexit bombshell last week, tabling a controversial bill that, if approved, could see the U.K. renege on parts of its withdrawal deal that it agreed with the European Union last year, breaking international law in the process.
The proposed legislation, called the Internal Market Bill, seeks to allow the British government to dis-apply some parts of the agreement if it, and the EU, fail to reach a trade deal before the end of the year — an outcome that looks increasingly likely amid tense trade negotiations that have faced stumbling blocks.
The bill provoked outrage in Brussels, which threatened the U.K. with legal action, and prompted a row between the EU and U.K.’s chief Brexit negotiators on Twitter. It has also caused concern among many British politicians who said the bill, which would need to be passed by the U.K.‘s lower and upper houses of parliament, would damage the U.K.’s international standing at a time when it needs to seek trade agreements with the rest of the world.
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