U.S. Senator Schumer says he would oppose any U.S.-UK trade deal imperiling Irish border
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday he would oppose any trade deal between the United States and Britain if it undermined the Good Friday agreement, which helped end three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.
The Good Friday pact also dismantled all physical border infrastructure between European Union member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of Britain, guaranteeing that people and goods on either side can move freely.
U.S. House of Representatives' Speaker Nancy Pelosi said last week that a U.S.-UK trade deal would languish in Congress if it facilitated a reinstatement of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The future status of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland has been one of the knottier issues of Britain's promised exit from the EU. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Writing by Makini Brice; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
