US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has intervened in the Brexit standoff between the UK and the EU, warning that a trade deal with Britain relies on its continued respect for the Northern Ireland peace deal
“We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit,” Mr Biden wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
“Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period,” he added.
The tweet was posted shortly after a live press conference with Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, and Dominic Raab, the British foreign secretary. Mr Raab had tried to point the finger at the EU for exploiting the situation in Ireland in the ongoing negotiations for a new trade deal.
The intervention by the former vice president shows how UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's proposal to override the Brexit divorce treaty signed with the EU is having international repercussions.
Critically for the British government, the controversial legislation now threatens a transatlantic free-trade agreement, touted as an important post-Brexit prize.
The thorny issue of Brexit has returned to the fore because of disputes over the British government’s contentious Internal Market Bill which passed its first vote in the parliament earlier this week.
The law, which still faces further scrutiny in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, would breach international law by giving the government the power to override the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Mr Johnson hammered out a withdrawal deal with EU leaders that allowed Britain to exit the bloc at the end of January and enjoy a transition in which the terms of trade remain static until the end of 2020.
Four senior US congressmen have warned in an open letter that the UK’s plans could have disastrous consequences for the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 accords which ended the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Mr Biden shared the shared the text of the letter in his tweet.
“The United States Congress will not support any free-trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom if the United Kingdom fails to preserve the gains of the Good Friday Agreement and broader peace process,” it said.
“If these reported plans were to go forward, it would be difficult to see how these conditions could be met.”
Mr Raab also met Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives after his talks with Mr Pompeo in the State Department. She has previously said any British moves to undermine the Irish peace deal would mean there was "no chance" of ratification of a US free trade agreement.
A statement following the talks with Mr Raab reiterated the congressional leadership's bottom line for its support. “[We] welcomed his assurances but reiterated the same message that we delivered to the leaders of the UK in London last year: if the UK violates its international agreements and Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be absolutely no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing the Congress,” it said.
Mr Pompeo said he backed the UK as a trustworthy partner, despite the row over Mr Johnson’s plan to rip up parts of the Brexit deal.
“I am confident they’ll get it right,” he said. “We know the complexity of the situation.”
The British government has not put a firm timetable on securing a free-trade agreement with the US.
The US is the largest destination for British exports outside the EU, and trade between the two countries amounted to $270 billion (Dh991.7bn) in 2019.
A free-trade agreement with the US would boost Britain's GDP by 0.16 per cent in the long run, said a UK government estimate published in March.
The co-chair of a committee of American politicians working to protect the Good Friday Agreement, Bruce Morrison, has continued to hit out at the UK its plans.
"That deal recognised the importance of the open border on the island of Ireland, and now some of that agreement is being taken back or sought to be taken back by unilateral action by the UK" he told BBC Radio Ulster.
"Anything that says 'well we made a deal once, but it's inconvenient now and we're going to recede from that agreement when Northern Ireland is at stake' - we think that's a threat," he added.
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ELECTION%20RESULTS
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Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Teaching in coronavirus times
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Top 5 concerns globally:
1. Unemployment
2. Spread of infectious diseases
3. Fiscal crises
4. Cyber attacks
5. Profound social instability
Top 5 concerns in the Mena region
1. Energy price shock
2. Fiscal crises
3. Spread of infectious diseases
4. Unmanageable inflation
5. Cyber attacks
Source: World Economic Foundation
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The bio:
Favourite holiday destination: I really enjoyed Sri Lanka and Vietnam but my dream destination is the Maldives.
Favourite food: My mum’s Chinese cooking.
Favourite film: Robocop, followed by The Terminator.
Hobbies: Off-roading, scuba diving, playing squash and going to the gym.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'
Rating: 3/5
Directed by: David Yates
Starring: Mads Mikkelson, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Jude Law
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills