US politicians are putting pressure on Brexit

Some members of the US Congress have issued words of advice for the United Kingdom as it continues Brexit negotiations: Anything resembling a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member, will not be looked upon kindly.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney’s visit to Washington this week highlighted the problems the United Kingdom could face with future trade deals should members of Congress find issue with how the Brexit process plays out.

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Rep. Brendan Boyle, an Irish-American and member of the “Friends of Ireland” caucus that met with Coveney, said a hard border arising from Brexit negotiations would have a “major impact” on Capitol Hill.

“There’s absolutely no way the US is going to do anything that would sacrifice our relationship with the EU,” said Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania. Congress would need to approve any future US-UK trade deals, he said.

“It’s 2019 – it’s not the 1800s,” he added. “And I think some people maybe sometimes forget that.”

LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND - JANUARY 19: PSNI officers stand watch over the remains of the car that was earlier hijacked and packed with explosives before being detonated outside Derry court house on January 19, 2019 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Dissident republicans are suspected to be behind the attack. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

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Boyle said the group of 15 Congressional members that met with Coveney agreed on the need for a backstop – a sort of insurance policy designed to avoid a hard border – saying it “is paramount” and something they take “deadly serious.”

UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said that she is committed to delivering a Brexit that avoids a hard border. Such a border would involve checkpoints, cameras and border posts – infrastructure that was often targeted by Irish nationalist paramilitaries during?the bloody 40-year sectarian conflict known as “The Troubles.”

A soft border – where goods, people and vehicles freely pass through a seamless border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland – is an integral part of the peace accord known as the Good Friday Agreement.

A pedestrian walks past a billboard in west Belfast on December 8, 2017 erected by Republican Party Sinn Fein calling for a special status for northern Ireland with respect to Brexit and no hard borders in Ireland. Britain and the European Union reached a historic deal on Brexit divorce terms on Friday that allows them to open up talks on a future relationship after the split. The European Commission announced that it "recommends sufficient progress" had been made by Britain on separation issues including the Irish border, Britain's divorce bill, and citizens' rights. / AFP PHOTO / Paul FAITH (Photo credit should read PAUL FAITH/AFP/Getty Images)

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Several powerful members of Congress have a vested interest in the border position. Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the “Friends of Ireland” caucus, has long worked to help progress peace in Northern Ireland and was part of the group that met with Coveney. He is also the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which will oversee any future trade deal between the United Kingdom and United States.

At one of the Coveney events this week, Rep. Peter King, a Republican from New York, said bluntly: “If the British want to consider any type of trade agreement with the US, it’s important that that soft border be maintained.”

The backstop has been a particularly thorny issue as May negotiates with both the British Parliament and the European Union.

But British politicians have been firm that they will not back her deal without changes. Last month, the Parliament voted to reopen the withdrawal agreement and seek alternative arrangements to the backstop.

The night of that UK parliamentary vote last month, Boyle introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives opposing a hard border.

Boyle said the move was based on seeing “the British government renege on the backstop it had helped negotiate, that it had in part asked for and agreed to.”

He added, “That was deeply concerning to me. I wanted to show that there were a number of us on Capitol Hill that were paying attention to this.”

The United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29.