EU Seeks UK Compromise for Brexit Trade Deal: AP

The British may consider Brexit a done deal after December’s decisive election, but the European Union expects “major concessions” and hard details. The United Kingdom leaves the EU on January 31, and the tough task of negotiating a trade deal awaits, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned the British prime minister that reaching a comprehensive agreement is challenging with the deadline of December 31. Boris Johnson explains he seeks a “wide-ranging” free trade deal covering goods and services and cooperation in other areas – with some but not all EU rules and standards. The European Union as the world’s largest single market expects a level playing field from trade partners on environment, labor, taxation and state subsidies, von der Leyen explains. Still, the EU plans for a “tariff-free” and “quota-free trade deal. “The EU worries that Britain plans to cut environmental and employment standards in order to position itself as a low-regulation, low-tax competitor to the bloc,” reports the Associated Press, adding that Johnson is assuring the United Kingdom will continue high standards. Large trade agreements typically take years to negotiate, the Associated Press warns. The United Kingdom is the first nation to exit the European, and compromises and priorities will be required. – YaleGlobal