US-UK trade pact 'won't pass Congress if Good Friday deal undermined'

There is no chance that a trade agreement between the United States and Britain will pass Congress if Brexit undermines the Good Friday peace accord between Ireland and Northern Ireland, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday.

"Whatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday Agreement, including the seamless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland," Pelosi said in a statement.

"If Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be no chance of a US-UK trade agreement passing the Congress," the Democratic head of the US House of Representatives added, first reported by Politico.

The Trump administration is negotiating a free trade deal with Britain that would go into effect after it completes its exit from the European Union. The departure is scheduled for October 31.

But any agreement would have to pass the US Congress, which is split between Democrats in the House and President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in the Senate.

US national security adviser John Bolton, visiting London this week, said that Washington would enthusiastically support a no-deal Brexit if that is what the British government decided to do and that a trade deal with the United States would help cushion the blow of Britain's departure from the EU.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Makini Brice and Steve Orlofsky)