Biden: UK, EU trade agreement over Northern Ireland ‘essential step’ to maintaining Good Friday Agreement

President Biden on Monday welcomed an agreement between the United Kingdom and European Union to resolve the post-Brexit trade status of Northern Ireland.

Biden, in a statement, called the “Windsor Framework” an “essential step to ensuring that the hard-earned peace and progress of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is preserved and strengthened. 

“I appreciate the efforts of the leaders and officials on all sides who worked tirelessly to find a way forward that protects Northern Ireland’s place within the UK’s internal market as well as the EU’s single market, to the benefit of all communities in Northern Ireland,” Biden said in a statement.

“I am confident the people and businesses of Northern Ireland will be able to take full advantage of the economic opportunities created by this stability and certainty, and the United States stands ready to support the region’s vast economic potential,” he added.

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), who is the Biden administration’s special envoy to Northern Ireland for economic affairs, will help coordinate implementation of the new framework along with Biden’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Jane Hartley, and the ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin.

The framework agreed to Monday between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will allow goods to flow freely to Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. The agreement, named the “Windsor Framework” because it was finalized in Windsor near London, ends a dispute that has loomed since the United Kingdom voted in 2016 to leave the European Union.

Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, shares a border with Ireland, which is part of the European Union. The U.K.’s exit from the EU sparked renewed concerns about the possibility of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, upsetting the Good Friday Agreement, which has maintained peace for more than two decades. April will mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.