UK Closes In on EU Breakthrough in Long-Running Brexit Spat
- Bloc begins tests on UK’s live trade data seen as key to deal
- Irish foreign minister says agreement is ‘doable’ by year-end
Trucks enter and leave Larne Port in Larne, Northern Ireland, UK.
Photographer: Mark Marlow/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The UK and European Union are close to a major breakthrough in their months-long spat over post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland, which has threatened at times to escalate into a full-blown trade war.
The EU has begun testing the UK’s live database tracking goods moving from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland, people familiar with the matter said. If the bloc is satisfied, it could pave the way for an agreement on customs checks in the Irish Sea that are a major source of tension between the two sides.