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Report: EU May Delay Brexit until 2021

The European Union’s top officials are developing a plan that would give the U.K. another 21 months to finalize its plan to leave the EU, sources tell The Guardian.
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The European Union’s top officials are developing a plan that would give the U.K. another 21 months to finalize its plan to leave the EU, sources tell The Guardian.

The scheme would replace the 21-month transition period that would begin immediately after the U.K.’s scheduled exit from the EU on March 29. Proponents say the maneuver would avoid the highly disruptive effect of a “hard” Brexit with no replacement European trade pacts.

The EU is eager to avoid a short postponement, which could lead to another round of upheaval this summer if Parliament still needs more time to agree on a solution. Both markets seek to avoid new tariffs that would raise prices and hurt trade.

But whether an extension into 2021 would bolster Britain’s auto industry isn’t clear. Pessimists, pointing to decisions earlier this month by Honda and Nissan to reassign future product programs to plants outside the U.K., suggest automakers have given up on hopes for a smooth Brexit and are making business decisions accordingly.

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