UK moves to rewrite Brexit rules; EU threatens legal action

Britain's government on Monday proposed new legislation that would unilaterally rewrite post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, despite opposition from some U.K. lawmakers and EU officials who say the move violates international law.

The proposed bill seeks to remove customs checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. That will override parts of the trade treaty that Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed with the European Union less than two years ago.

Britain's government maintained its move is justified under international law because of the "genuinely exceptional situation," and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss blamed the EU for blocking a negotiated settlement. The European Commission said it could take legal action against the U.K.

Existing trade rules "provide business operators in Northern Ireland with access to the EU single market for goods. The U.K. government's approach puts this access, and related opportunities, at risk," said European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic.

In Ireland, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said it was "very regrettable for a country like the U.K. to renege on an international treaty." German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed the sentiment, saying there was "no reason" for the U.K. to make such a move.

"It's a rejection of all the agreements we reached between the European Union and Great Britain," Scholz said. "The European Union will react to this as one and it has the whole toolbox at its disposal."

Brushing aside criticism, Johnson told reporters that the proposed change is "relatively simple to do."

"Frankly, it's a relatively trivial set of adjustments in the grand scheme of things," he told LBC Radio.

He argued that his government's ...