With time running out, EU and UK near post-Brexit trade deal

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union and British negotiators inched their way to within touching distance of a trade deal early Thursday, raising hopes a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year's Day could be averted, officials said.

After resolving a few remaining fair-competition issues, negotiators tussled over EU fishing rights in U.K. waters as they worked to secure a provisional deal for a post-Brexit relationship after nine months of talks.

Sources on both sides said the long and difficult negotiations were their a final stretch, with one EU official saying: “I expect to see some white smoke tonight." The official asked not to be identified because the talks were still ongoing.

The British government said an agreement might come Wednesday night, but it was not guaranteed. Late in the evening a stack of pizza boxes was delivered to EU headquarters in Brussels, where top negotiators were combing through the fine print of a draft deal that runs to some 2,000 pages.

All everyone was waiting for was an appearance of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before the tentative deal goes to the 27 EU capitals seeking unanimous approval and the blessing of the EU and British parliaments.

No matter what happens, trade between Britain and the EU will face customs checks and some other barriers on Jan. 1, when the U.K. leaves the bloc's single market and customs union. A trade deal would avert the imposition of tariffs and duties that could cost both sides billions in trade and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Britain withdrew from the EU on Jan. 31, and an economic transition period expires on Dec. 31.

Johnson has always insisted the U.K. will “prosper mightily” even if no deal is reached and the U.K. has to trade with the EU on World Trade Organization terms from...