EU sets deadline for post-Brexit trade deal

Negotiations were to resume Tuesday on the future trade ties between the European Union and the United Kingdom after Brexit, with the Europeans insisting that important differences in the two sides’ positions must be bridged and an agreement found by October.

The U.K. officially left the EU on Jan. 31, becoming the first country ever to withdraw from the world’s biggest trade bloc, but the country remains inside the EU’s tariff-free economic zone until the end of the year.

The parties disagree on state aid for businesses and on fisheries. The British government remains opposed to EU demands for long-term access to British waters. Both say they want to avoid a “no deal” scenario that would see tariffs and other restrictions imposed on trade.

Four days of talks have been scheduled this week to try to push the negotiations forward.