UK raises stakes in EU spat with threat to break Brexit deal

The British government says it will pass a law to change the trade treaty it signed with the European Union less than two years ago

LONDON -- The British government dramatically escalated a fight with the European Union on Tuesday by saying it will pass a law to change the trade treaty signed by the two sides less than two years ago.

Britain says its move to scrap parts of the legally binding treaty is an insurance policy in case it can’t reach agreement with the bloc to end a long-running dispute over post-Brexit trade rules.

The threat of legislation is sure to rile the EU, which accuses Prime Minister Boris Johnson of trying to wriggle out of a deal that his government negotiated and signed as part of the U.K.’s exit from the bloc in 2020. It raises the specter of a trade war between Britain and the 27-nation bloc that is — even after Brexit — its major economic partner.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told lawmakers in the House of Commons that the move “is consistent with our obligations in international law.”