DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5
Supply Chain

Irish PM Says EU-UK Free-Trade Deal Possible By End-2020

By Dayeeta Das
Share this article
Irish PM Says EU-UK Free-Trade Deal Possible By End-2020

It may be possible to negotiate a new free-trade deal between Britain and the European Union by the end of next year if it does not diverge significantly from current trading terms, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday.

"In terms of negotiating a trade agreement before December 2020, I think that is difficult but not impossible" if Britain ratifies its EU withdrawal agreement by its current 31 January deadline, Varadkar told journalists in Dublin.

"The more like the status quo, the quicker it will be," Varadkar said, but added that ratification by 27 member states may not be possible by the end of 2020, the scheduled end of a proposed Brexit transition phase.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

ADVERTISEMENT
Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.