UK rejects EU proposals to resolve N.Irish trade dispute

FILE PHOTO: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrives for an Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, April 25, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain on Wednesday rejected European Union proposals to resolve a standoff over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, saying it would not shy away from taking direct action in a move Ireland said would trigger legal action by Brussels.

Striking a deal that preserved peace in Northern Ireland and protected the EU's single market without imposing a hard land border between the British province and EU member state Ireland, or a border within the United Kingdom, was always the biggest challenge for London as it embarked on its exit from the bloc.