“As things stand, we could not support what is being suggested on customs and consent issues and there is a lack of clarity on VAT,” a statement from the party said, referring to the value-added tax.
After the announcement of the deal, the D.U.P. said it still did not support the agreement — and said it “drives a coach and horses through the professed sanctity of the Belfast Agreement,” also known as the Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 laid out the framework for peace in Northern Ireland.
The D.U.P. said the Brexit deal was not in Northern Ireland’s long-term interest, and that it would hurt Northern Ireland’s economy and undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom.
The Conservative Party has relied on the Democratic Unionists to remain in government since it lost its majority in a 2017 election, and their support for a Brexit deal is thought to be crucial for Mr. Johnson to get his deal through Parliament.
D.U.P. lawmakers have long sought a veto on post-Brexit trading rules, seeing that provision as the only way to ensure that the territory does not diverge from the rest of the United Kingdom — but Mr. Johnson’s deal does not provide one.
Opposition from the Northern Irish lawmakers could also spell trouble for Mr. Johnson in winning the support of staunch Brexit supporters who have said that they would support a deal only if the D.U.P. did as well. But some of those Brexit supporters hinted on Thursday that they would be willing to back a deal even without the D.U.P. onboard.