The US congress is not going to pass a trade deal with Britain in the event of a hard Brexit, which would inevitably “blow up” the Northern Ireland peace process, a visiting American senator warned, as he spoke of “deep concern” in Washington about the chaotic state of the political process in this country.
Chris Murphy stressed that there was strong and growing bipartisan view in the Senate and House of Representatives that the US should have a trade agreement with the European Union before one takes place with the UK.
In any event, maintained Mr Murphy, a Democrat member of the Senate committees on foreign affairs and on oversight and government reform, any bilateral deal between Washington and London will be “years down the line” with the Trump administration and Congress locked in debate over Nafta (North American Free Trade Association) and commercial relations with Canada and Mexico “which will take up the rest of this presidential term”.
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