EU and UK talks on securing a trade deal recommenced on Tuesday
In a nutshell"
- This is the fourth round of negotiations on a trade deal to replace the transition phase by the end of this year.
- The deadline for an extension of the transition period is the end of June.
- EU Chief negotiator Michel Barnier wrote to UK MPs saying the EU will accept an extension of up to 2 years, in order to allow enough time to negotiate a new deal.
- If you've been following along you'll know that this is not a (publicly) acceptable option for UK PM Johnson.
The road ahead is rocky for these discussions. A press conference/release is expected by Friday on this round of talks with what has been achieved (and not). Background to this is a 'no deal' will be damaging for both sides. And more background is that both countries are trying to manage limiting damage to their respective economies due to the coronavirus outbreak response.
I suspect the two will patch up some sort of agreement. Sort of like a 'phase 1' agreement or some such garbage.
Meanwhile EUR/GBP daily:
