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THE United Kingdom and the European Union agreed to “go the extra mile” in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent “no-deal” exit for Britain from the EU’s orbit at the end of the month.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen had given negotiators a Sunday (yesterday) deadline to find a way to resolve an impasse on arrangements that would guarantee Britain zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU’s single market.

Both said on Friday that a no-deal Brexit was now the most likely outcome, but yesterday they mandated negotiators to continue.

“Despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile,” Johnson and Von der Leyen said in a joint statement.

Johnson said yesterday he still hoped for a post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union but that failure remains the “most likely” outcome.

“I’m afraid we’re still very far apart on some key things, but where there’s life there’s hope,” he told reporters.

“The UK certainly won’t be walking away from the talks. I still think there’s a deal to be done if our partners want to do it,” Johnson said at 10 Downing Street. “We’re going to try with all our hearts and we’ll be as creative as we possibly can.”

But Britain could not compromise on the “fundamental nature” of Brexit, controlling UK laws and fisheries, he said.

“The most likely thing now is of course we have to get ready for WTO terms,” Johnson added, referring to tariffs and quotas on the basic rules of trade set by the World Trade Organisation.

“There is a clarity and a simplicity in that approach that has its own advantages. It’s not where we wanted to get to . . . but the UK is prepared,” he said.

“Making inroads”

Britain quit the EU in January but remains an informal member until December 31 — the end of a transition period during which it has remained in the EU single market and customs union.

Meanwhile, EU sources told Reuters news agency that EU and UK negotiators made some progress on narrowing their differences in trade talks, but there has been no decisive breakthrough on fair competition or fishing rights.

“They are making inroads on some difficult stuff. How to manage divergence and soften the blow for (EU) fishermen is still open,” an EU diplomat said.

Earlier yesterday, Britain’s main negotiator David Frost held talks with his EU counterpart Michel Barnier at the European Commission building in Brussels.

A no-deal split would bring overnight tariffs and other barriers that would hurt both sides, although most economists think the smaller British economy would take a greater hit because the United Kingdom does almost half of its trade with the bloc.

Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan said there are no expectations for a firm day today. “The expectation is that it will go one of two ways,” he said, speaking from Brussels.

“It will either be a no-deal, that the two leaders will agree they frankly reached the end of the road and that they are too far apart. The other possibility is that they will agree that there is still a glimmer of light and they will carry on talking.” — Al Jazeera