Next week’s UK-EU Brexit trade talks still on, officials say

Next week’s round of trade talks between the U.K. and European Union are still set to go ahead, officials said, amid growing speculation the coronavirus outbreak may force them to be delayed.

The negotiations, set to be held in London between March 18 and 20, are being kept under review, according to officials involved in the preparations. A decision to delay them could yet be made in coming days, they said.

After the first round of discussions on Britain’s future relationship last week, both sides played down the chances of a delay—but the EU has since canceled all but the most urgent meetings on other issues in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The talks involve more than 100 negotiators from both sides.

Any postponement would further reduce the time available to reach an agreement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has threatened to walk away if he doesn’t think he has a good chance of a deal by June. If the negotiations fail, the U.K. would default to trading with the bloc on terms set by the World Trade Organization at the year-end—meaning the return of quotas and tariffs.