Chad Smith, NAFB News Service

Senior British Minister Michael Gove says that Britain had hoped to reach a trade deal with the European Union by now, but the talks may now go on until after Christmas. “We’ll want to ensure that parliament has a say, and a chance to scrutinize any agreement reached,” Gove tells a parliamentary committee. “So, a realistic deadline will likely be immediately in the days after Christmas.” Reuters says any possible disruption at British ports after the U.K. ends its status-quo transition period with the European Union and introduces new customs rules will be short-lived. A previous warning from the government said that even with a trade agreement, the 7,000 trucks heading for ports in southeast England would be held in check. Gove tells the parliamentary committee that’s a worst-case scenario. “I would expect that we would find that after an initial few days and weeks of a potential disruption that things will resolve themselves and find a new normal relatively early in the new year,” Gove adds. The British Minister added that if there isn’t time for parliament to have a say on any potential agreement, the U.K. will have to trade on World Trade Organization terms.