IF BREXIT-WEARY BRITONS hoped they would be able to read about something other than deadlocked talks once they had left the EU, they were disappointed this week. The transition period into which Britain has gone lasts only until the end of the year, by which time a trade deal needs to be done. But when negotiations began on February 3rd, the differences between the two sides seemed as wide as ever. It was Britain's choice, insisted Michel Barnier, the eu's chief negotiator, to have a more distant relationship than the eu had wanted. But he said the bloc was ready to offer a zero-tariff, zero-quota free-trade deal that is more generous even than Canada's-with conditions.
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