Jim Allister KC MP, Timothy Gaston MLA and Dr Dan Boucher from the TUV met the American Consul General James Applegate and Political-Economic Chief Dori Winter to Northern Ireland on Thursday 30 January in Ballymena.
Mr Allister said:
“We were delighted to meet the Consul and Deputy Consul.
“Having expressed our condolences following the tragic events in Washington DC overnight, we talked about both the constitutional and economic implications of the Irish Sea border and particularly its implications for the United Kingdom’s relationship with the United States and its implications on a possible UK-US trade deal.
“Constitutionally, we impressed upon our friends the impact of what has been the biggest reversal in democracy in the western world, with the disenfranchisement of the people of Northern Ireland in 300 areas of law, and our subjection to the law of a foreign Parliament that we don’t make and cannot change, and the consequences of the European Union’s attendant intervention to undermine cross community consent at Stormont.
“Economically, we explained how the dependence of Northern Ireland, as a fully integrated part of the UK economy, on receipt of economic inputs from Great Britain, means that rather that providing us with the best of both worlds, the Irish Sea border is undermining and damaging those parts of the Northern Ireland economy that sit beyond the service sector, (to which the Protocol does not apply), especially manufacturing.
“We also reflected on the forthcoming 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence on 4th July 2026 and on the critical role played by Ulster Scots from Northern Ireland in laying the foundation for the United States.”