we are in the ‘tunnel’ of conversations With Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – The UK will work out for a Brexit trade deal and both sides are in “tunnel” talks but if it is not possible to reach an agreement with the European Union the country will be ready, a minister said. inside Priti Patel on Thursday.

“First, the Prime Minister and the government, we have all been very clear that we are not walking away, we will continue to negotiate for this free trade agreement,” Patel told LBC radio.

“We are in that stage of compromise and our teams continue to work hard,” said Patel, with his official title as Home Secretary.

The “tunnel” is a term for an intense final stage of a secret compromise, make or break.

Patel said negotiators were working “smoothly out” to secure a deal, but the government was clear it would not harm the country’s independence or sovereignty.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that both sides had moved closer to embracing a trade deal.

“I can’t tell you if there will be an agreement or not. But I can tell you that there is a path to agreement now. The path may be very narrow but it is there,” von der Leyen said. to the European Parliament.

Britain formally left the EU on 31 January but has since been in a period of transition under unchanged trade, travel and industry rules. He is finally leaving the group’s market and customs union on December 31st.

If it does not agree to a treaty, it would lift trade barriers between the EU and Britain, snarl borders, send waves through financial markets and cause chaos in supply chains across Europe because it is also ‘struggle with COVID-19.