Fourth round of post-Brexit trade talk ends without breakthrough

The European Union and the United Kingdom have failed to make significant progress during the fourth round of post-Brexit trade talks as the deadline for a possible extension of the transition period looms.

Following four days of video discussions, the sides remained at loggerheads on many topics, including on regulations for businesses.

Their positions on fisheries remain distant, with the UK opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British waters.

“This week, there have been no significant areas of progress … We cannot go on like this forever,” Michel Barnier, EU chief negotiator, said on Friday, adding that both sides must agree to a deal before October 31.

David Frost, UK’s chief negotiator, said the talks should “intensify and accelerate” and be completed by the end of this year.

“We are close to reaching the limits of what we can achieve through the format of remote formal rounds,” Frost said. “If we are to make progress, it is clear that we must intensify and accelerate our work.”

Deadline

The UK left the political institutions of the EU on January 31 but remains inside the EU’s tariff-free single market and customs union until the end of the year.

That so-called transition period can be extended by two years to allow more time for a satisfying compromise, yet a request to do so has to be made by July 1.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he will not be asking for a delay.

The best hope for a quick breakthrough now rests on a high-level political meeting between Johnson and the EU’s top official, Ursula Von der Leyen, scheduled for later this month.

If they do not reach an agreement by the end of the year, tariffs and quotas will return on trade between the two sides.