No EU trade deal without fair competition guarantees - EU adviser

The European Union had flagged to Britain well in advance that any free trade deal must come with a commitment from London to uphold fair competition, a senior adviser to the bloc said on Wednesday. Stefaan de Rynck, an adviser to EU's chief trade negotiator Michel Barnier, also said the trade talks would be tougher than the negotiations that secured Britain's divorce settlement because of their broader scope and time limit.

Britain left the EU last month with an 11-month business-as-usual transition period and will need new trading terms from January 2021 to avoid potential disruption to trade.