Sunak hails proposed deal on N. Irel8k8 apps downloadand

Trade agreement seen as breakthrough after Brexit despite issues remaining

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Northern Ireland on Tuesday to sell his revised post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, as he aims to resolve issues stoking sectarian tensions in the country.

Brussels has agreed to the proposed deal, known as the Windsor Framework, but it still needs the backing of the UK Parliament. Many lawmakers have said they will wait to see what people in Northern Ireland say before deciding whether to support it.

The Windsor Framework, if approved, will replace the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiated by former prime minister Boris Johnson when the country left the European Union.

That deal proved to be deeply unpopular with many in Northern Ireland, as it slowed trade, created shortages, and triggered a boycott of the country's devolved government by unionist politicians.

Sunak called the new deal a decisive breakthrough and told Northern Ireland business leaders and politicians that it solves the problems they had with the protocol.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it could mark the start of a stronger EU-UK relationship.

Some members of the UK's ruling Conservative Party who strongly criticized the Northern Ireland Protocol have backed the new deal.

Northern Ireland Office Minister Steve Baker said Sunak had "pulled a blinder". He told the BBC that the framework "should be good enough for any reasonable unionists", referring to those in Northern Ireland who want to remain part of the UK, the group most opposed to the protocol.

The Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland's largest unionist group, acknowledged the framework made "significant progress "on the protocol but held off on fully supporting it until its lawyers had analyzed the small print.

The party dislikes the protocol because it treats the country differently to the rest of the union, as if it were still part of the EU, something that was done to avoid the reestablishment of a hard border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.

The border has been a flashpoint for sectarian violence between unionists and those wanting Northern Ireland to become part of a united Ireland, known as republicans.

When both the UK and the Republic of Ireland were members of the EU, sectarian tension eased, in part because customs arrangements on both sides of the border were the same, and people and goods could move freely.

Avoiding hard border

After the UK left the EU in 2020 politicians said they wanted to avoid a so-called hard border by, in effect, creating a new border for trade between the British mainland and Ireland. Unionists said that created a kind of united Ireland.

Sunak insisted on Tuesday that the Windsor Framework can deliver "smooth-flowing trade" as well as "protect Northern Ireland's place in our union and safeguard sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland".

Items sent from the British mainland to Northern Ireland will travel through a "green lane" and not be checked, he said. Items destined to continue on into the EU will be sent through a "red lane" and checked.

Sunak said that, as a result, Northern Ireland will only have to follow about 3 percent of EU laws. Its devolved government, the Northern Ireland Assembly, will be able to block EU laws it does not like, he said.

"In practical terms, something that is important to people in Northern Ireland is not having a border between Northern Ireland and the republic. I think that's important to everybody," he told the BBC.

United States President Joe Biden, a strong critic of the previous deal, hailed the new framework as an "essential step" in "ensuring that hard-earned peace and progress …is preserved and strengthened".

He has said in the past he will not talk to London about a US-UK trade deal without a functioning devolved power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, something that looks more likely now than it has for some time.