UK presses on with Brexit rules rewrite, EU calls it illegal

LONDON (AP) — Britain is ramping up a feud with the European Union by pressing on with a plan to rip up parts of the post-Brexit trade deal it signed with the bloc.

Legislation that rewrites trade rules for Northern Ireland is scheduled to get its first major House of Commons debate on Monday, the first step on what could be a rocky journey through Parliament.

The legislation, if approved by lawmakers, would remove checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, thereby scrapping parts of a trade treaty that Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed before Britain left the EU in 2020.

Johnson said he thought the plan could be approved “fairly rapidly” if Parliament cooperates, and that the measures could become law by the end of the year.

“What we are trying to do is fix something that I think is very important to our country, which is the balance of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement,” Johnson told reporters at the Group of Seven summit in Germany.

The British government says the rules are burdening businesses and undermining peace in Northern Ireland. It argues the unilateral move is justified under international law because of the “genuinely exceptional situation.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said Sunday that the aim was to “fix,” rather than throw out, the trade agreement, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Johnson's opponents, however, say the move is illegal and will shred Britain's international reputation. It is also causing concern among some of the prime minister's fellow Conservatives, already worried about Johnson's judgment — and popularity — following a series of ethics scandals and two special election defeats.

The EU has threatened to retaliate against the UK if it goes ahead with its plan to rewrite the rules of the post-Brexit deal, raising the spectre of a trade war between the two major economic partners.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.