Curb the Brexit Enthusiasm. The Hurdles Are Still High
The technicalities of trade negotiations depend on broad political buy-in. And that's still lacking on both sides of the English Channel.
Can Boris blink?
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergBrexit optimism is in the air. The U.K. and the European Union have resumed trade talks after a highly theatrical fallout, promising to ramp up the speed and intensity of negotiations with a view to settling on a draft deal by next month. “An agreement is within reach,” EU negotiator Michel Barnier said last week, boosting the pound to its highest level against the dollar since August.
The mood is good, but the reality is complicated. What any agreement will contain is still a bit of a mystery, and that’s largely because the biggest obstacles have yet to be overcome, and they’re very political and very emotional ones.