(Title Image: Conservatives)
UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has told the UK to prepare to leave the Brexit transition period without a long-term agreement with the EU after a deadline he set to agree a deal by expired.
As things stand, the UK would revert to World Trade Organisation rules when trading with the EU’s 27 member states on 1st January 2021. This means customs checks would be required and tariffs will be applied to imports and exports.
Before and since the 2016 EU membership referendum, the prospect of a long-term deal has been described as “the easiest deal in history“, while the Conservatives campaigned at the 2019 UK general election on the promise of an “oven-ready deal” which has failed to materialise.
Despite the deadline expiring, there were some hopes a deal could still yet be agreed before the end of 2020, with the next EU leaders summit on 15th November 2020 being considered an unofficial deadline extension.
