Brexit talks go into another week as EU, UK push to salvage trade deal
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The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, returns to a hotel after Brexit negotiations in London, October 27, 2020. /Reuters

The European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, returns to a hotel after Brexit negotiations in London, October 27, 2020. /Reuters

EU and British Brexit negotiators will continue talks in Brussels on Monday and until around mid-week, sources on both sides said on Sunday, in a sign both sides are still pushing to avoid a damaging breakdown in trade in less than nine weeks.

Intensive and secretive, the talks are a final bid to seal a new partnership agreement for when Britain's transition out of the European Union runs its course at the end of this year.

If the sides overcome their differences, the new deal would govern everything from trade and energy to transport and fisheries. If they fail, an estimated $900 billion of annual bilateral trade in goods and services would be damaged from January 1 by tariffs and quotas.

Negotiations are said to continue face-to-face in Brussels on Monday following a full weekend of talks. An update on their progress and the chances of a deal was expected on Wednesday or Thursday.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday that "much remains to be done" to seal a deal.

Both sides have, however, previously signaled their readiness to compromise on fisheries, a politically sensitive issue for both Britain and France, as well as several other EU states.

With time running out, financial markets and businesses are increasingly jittery as Britain and the EU face three main scenarios: a deal this year that salvages free trade, a tumultuous economic split, or a fudged arrangement that would settle future ties in a handful of areas but leave the rest up in the air.

(With input from Reuters)