UK agrees curbs on trade to break Brexit deadlock

Theresa May is preparing to limit the UK’s ability to strike free trade deals after Brexit in a concession to Brussels aimed at breaking the deadlock over Northern Ireland. The British prime minister is preparing a “grand bargain”, according to her colleagues, that would involve the UK staying tied to customs rules on goods after a transition period ends in December 2020. No 10 will claim that the UK has left the customs union at this point, but keeping the rules will curtail the ability to sign trade deals for many years. Read more here.