A Brexit trade deal between the UK and the European Union has formally been announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Talks on a trade deal had stalled over a dispute on fisheries, with the UK receiving resistance from both France and Denmark over exclusion zones and fishing quotas.
The announcement of the trade deal this late in the transition period means any treaty that is signed will only be provisionally ratified before the UK leaves the EU on December 31.
EU member states will have to ratify the text of the deal by means of a written confirmation, as there are no scheduled EU council meetings before the December 31 deadline.
Talks through the night
Brexit trade talks went through the night in Brussels as both parties pushed to reach an agreement before the deadline of December 24.
Even though a deal has been signed, trade between Britain and the EU will face customs checks and some other barriers on January 1, when the UK leaves the bloc’s single market and customs union.
A trade deal would avert the imposition of tariffs and duties that could cost both sides billions in trade and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Britain formally withdrew from the EU on January 31, 2020 and the economic transition period expires on December 31, 2020.
Britain voted to leave the EU in a referendum held on June 23, 2016.
Johnson has always insisted the UK will “prosper mightily” even if no deal is reached and the UK has to trade with the EU on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms from January 1.
