Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a media briefing in Downing Street, London,
Thursday, Dec. 24, 2020. Britain and the European Union have struck a provisional free-trade agreement
that should avert New Year’s chaos for cross-border commerce and bring a measure of certainty to
businesses after years of Brexit turmoil. The breakthrough on Thursday came after months of tense and
often testy negotiations that whittled differences down to three key issues: fair-competition rules,
mechanisms for resolving future disputes and fishing rights.