Brexit in sight, but hurdles remain

Britain and the E.U. agreed on the draft text of a Brexit deal on Thursday, clearing a major hurdle in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to leave the E.U. by Oct. 31. The agreement sets up a fateful showdown on Saturday, when British Parliament is set to vote on the plan.

The deal’s fate could rest with 10 lawmakers from Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, a conservative bloc in Parliament whose support hinges on the plan’s handling of the Irish border and trade with Britain. The party said on Thursday that it would not back the latest agreement.

The details: Mr. Johnson’s plan would avoid a border within Ireland by keeping Northern Ireland under the E.U.’s tariff rules — the same ones the Republic of Ireland follows. (Here are the specifics of how that would work.)

Need a drink? A whisky distiller in Scotland spent months ensuring that Brexit wouldn’t keep him from exporting his single malt to the U.S. in time for the holidays. Then a 25 percent tariff imposed by the Trump administration threw a wrench in his plans.