Britain, on trade collision course with EU, says it could walk away

LONDON — Britain unveiled a negotiating mandate on Thursday for talks with the European Union that puts it on a collision course with Brussels, saying it was ready to walk away if “good progress” was not made by June. After officially leaving the EU last month, Britain has until the end of the year to negotiate a trade deal and agreements on everything from fishing to transport, to replace more than 40 years of closely aligned political and economic relations. Having accepted that, by leaving the EU’s customs union and single market, British businesses will encounter new “frictions” in trade with the bloc, the government has made its stance clear –...