BRITAIN must respect its commitments in the Withdrawal Agreement if it wants to secure a deal on trade relations with the European Union, the chairman of eurozone finance ministers has warned.
Paschal Donohoe's remarks come after the British government said it plans to break international law by breaching parts of the treaty Westminster ratified in January.
The move has plunged talks on a future trade relationship between the EU and Britain into crisis less than four months before the end of the Brexit transition period.
"As the UK looks to what kind of future trade relationship it wants with the European Union, a prerequisite for that is honouring agreements that are already in place," the Dublin government's finance minister told reporters before the eurozone ministers' talks.
The European Commission, which is negotiating a trade deal with London on behalf of the 27-nation EU, has asked Britain to drop by the end of September the parts of a planned bill that would break the treaty with the bloc.
"It is imperative that the government of the United Kingdom respond back to the call from the commission ... this is a prerequisite to what any future relationship could look like," Mr Donohoe said.
Earlier this week, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said there will be "absolutely no chance" of a US/UK trade deal if Boris Johnson overrides the Brexit deal with Brussels.
The Democratic congresswoman said Congress would never pass an economic agreement that it felt could "imperil" the Northern Ireland peace accord.
"The Good Friday Agreement is the bedrock of peace in Northern Ireland and an inspiration for the whole world," she said.
The UK Internal Market Bill that the British government wants to pass would override provisions in the withdrawal treaty meant to ensure Britain would not give companies exporting to the EU an unfair advantage by subsidising them. The EU is sensitive to keeping competition with Britain fair after Brexit.
The House of Lords has also voiced concern that the bill would threaten to undermine the rule of law.
In a letter sent to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland, the Lords Constitution Committee said the bill's proposed to confer ministerial powers that conflict with international law.
"Any breach of international law threatens to undermine confidence in future treaty commitments made by the UK Government and increases the likelihood that the governments of other countries would not comply with their international law obligations," it said.
The committee has taken the unusual step of asking Mr Buckland to explain how he believes the controversial bill complies with international law.
