EU Threatens U.K. With Tariffs as Northern Ireland Row Escalates

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The European Union warned it could impose trade tariffs on the U.K. if it fails to implement in full the part of the Brexit agreement relating to Northern Ireland.

“We are at a crossroads in our relationship with the U.K.,” European Commission Vice Presid Maros Sefcovic told reporters in London on Wednesday after talks with U.K. Brexit Minister David Frost. “Patience is wearing very, very thin.”

Sefcovic said the EU could retaliate by suspending cooperation in certain sectors and that quotas and tariffs “could come into play” if the U.K. makes further unilateral changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

But, Sefcovic added, “it’s not too late. Let’s correct the path, let’s focus on what unites us.”

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.