Boris Johnson has put himself on a collision course with Joe Biden after Downing Street said it would press ahead with plans which would break the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.
The Prime Minister signalled he will stick to the post-Brexit Internal Market Bill despite peers in the House of Lords inflicting a massive defeat on Monday night.
Lords voted 433 to 165 to remove measures in the bill that “disapply” parts of the Northern Ireland protocol.
President elect Joe Biden has said the move would put at risk the Good Friday Agreement, which sets the framework for peace in Northern Ireland.
In September, Biden said the Good Friday Agreement could not be allowed to become “a casualty of Brexit”.
He said: “Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period.”
The UK government already admitted the legislation breaches part of the Northern Ireland protocol as set out in the withdrawal agreement signed with the EU. It would give ministers the power to change or export rules for goods travelling from Britain to Northern Ireland and also power over whether to notify Brussels of any state aid decisions.
The government said it would reinstate the clauses when the bill returns to the House of Commons next month.
A Government spokeswoman said: “We are disappointed that the House of Lords has voted to remove clauses from the UK Internal Market Bill, which was backed in the House of Commons by 340 votes to 256 and delivers on a clear Conservative manifesto commitment.
“We will re-table these clauses when the Bill returns to the Commons.”
The Westminster clash came as trade talks continue between EU and UK officials in London to try to reach an agreement over a future economic partnership.
