The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has warned the government in London that a unilateral escalation of the dispute over Brexit rules for Northern Ireland risks a trade pact with the USA.

If London decides to undermine that deal, the US Congress will not support a bilateral free trade agreement with Britain, Pelosi wrote in a statement on Thursday.

The so-called Northern Ireland Protocol protects the important stability in the former civil war region that the peace treaty known as the Good Friday Agreement brought.

A far-reaching trade pact with the USA is the declared goal of the Brexit supporters around Prime Minister Boris Johnson, but this is currently still a long way off.

The Northern Ireland Protocol aims to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the EU state of Ireland, which could fuel tensions in the former civil war region.

However, goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland must now be checked.

Supporters of close ties between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom - also known as Unionists - fear this will alienate and decouple them from London.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced on Tuesday a bill intended to remove the newly created trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

London is thus detaching itself from the regulations negotiated with Brussels and is following the pressure from the Unionists in Belfast.

These are currently blocking the formation of a unity government in Northern Ireland.

"Out of respect for the will of the British people and for Brexit, I call for constructive, cooperative and honest negotiations to implement an agreement that keeps the peace," Pelosi wrote.

The young generation in Northern Ireland, who didn't experience the bloody civil war, deserve a future without new violence.