2 years ago
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By Gareth Gordon
BBC News NI Political Correspondent
Image source, PAcemaker
Image caption,Richard Neal, leading a delegation of US politicians, at Stormont with outgoing Speaker Alex Maskey
A US delegation led by Congressman Richard Neal has arrived at Stormont to meet the five main parties.
It is the end of a controversial trip to Ireland where the politicians have held a number of meetings to discuss the row around the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has accused Mr Neal of being "one-sided".
On Tuesday, the congressman said the protocol dispute was "manufactured".
Unionist politicians have been protesting against the protocol, which was part of the UK government's Brexit deal with the EU.
Designed to ensure free trade could continue across Ireland's land border post-Brexit, it has also resulted in additional checks being placed on some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.
Sir Jeffrey has previously described this as undermining Northern Ireland's position in the UK.
The basics
- The Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Brexit deal: it means lorries don't face checkpoints when they go from Northern Ireland (in the UK) to the Republic of Ireland (in the EU)
- Instead, when goods arrive in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), they are checked against EU rules
- The UK and the EU chose this arrangement because the Irish border is a sensitive issue due to Northern Ireland's troubled political history
On Wednesday night, the American delegation was hosted by Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, who said the UK and the US were united in their shared commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.
DUP Mayor of Derry Graham Warke asked if the US visitors "could be careful with their words"
Meanwhile, Sir Jeffrey has written to the Ways and Means committee of the US Congress, which Mr Neal chairs, calling his comment about the protocol row being manufactured "outrageous".
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said the remark has made the road ahead harder, while he also took exception to the use of the word "planter" by Mr Neal as derogatory to unionists.
Image source, PA Media
Image caption,Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the UK wanted to fix rather than scrap the protocol
The congressman, who also used the term "Gael" during a visit to Londonderry, said he was using a "historic reference".
Speaking about the protocol, Mr Neal said people in Northern Ireland had taken up "much more severe challenges".
"We believe that based on the conversations that we had in Brussels, in London, this is an issue for the European Union and for the UK government to sift and sort," he added.
On Wednesday, the UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, on a visit to County Antrim, said issues with the protocol were "soluble" but cannot be allowed to drift.
Businesses in Northern Ireland think the protocol can work - and want it to, the UK's biggest business association said.
Tony Danker, the director general of the CBI, said: "If you're a manufacturer you have access to dual markets. That is a very big deal in the context of the overall Brexit fall out."
English (US)