With just 23 days left before Brexit, we still don’t have a deal – and the prospect of no deal or delay is getting closer.

Talks were ongoing in Brussels last night, with a supposed press conference called off. That means either we’re nearly there – or they were a disaster.

Procedural stuff that happens in Westminster is hugely important to you and your family.

So we’re producing a daily morning round-up on the fast bits of news you need to know.

Here’s your 60-second guide.

1. Tuesday’s talks did not go well

Talks between European Union and British  Brexit  negotiators ended after more than three hours in Brussels on Tuesday and will resume on Wednesday.

But an EU official said the talks did not go well.

And unusually neither side released any comments after the meeting, which involved the EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the UK’s Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.

Mr Cox and Mr Barclay were seeking to allay fears that the backstop could leave the UK trapped in a customs union with the EU, in a bid to win over Tory MPs ahead of further votes next week.

Watch out for more developments this morning. Cabinet ministers Liam Fox and Michael Gove will both be grilled by MPs, and Theresa May faces PMQs at noon.

2. No deal means no tariffs

If we leave without a deal the government is set to slash trade tariffs to more than at any point in history – according to Sky News.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) intends to cut 80-90% of all tariffs imposed on goods imported into Britain, the broadcaster reports.

This is bad news for British manufacturers and farmers who are protected by such tariffs.

If the PM fails to win support for her deal next week documents will be published which outline the dramatic change.

Business Secretary Greg Clark did not deny the reports this morning, instead saying: "You would need to make immediate changes to your tariff schedule

"We’d have to decide whether the decide zero tariffs to the rest of the world."

3. We’re heading for a furious spat with the US over chlorine-washed chicken

Britain is heading for a furious row with the US over chlorine-washed chicken.

Tory George Eustice, who quit as farming minister last month, today urged the government to reject any trade deal with the US that involves accepting America’s "woefully deficient" standards.

Yet US Ambassador Woody Johnson – who this week branded EU standards a "museum of agriculture" – demanded today: "The President has made it pretty clear that he’d love to have a robust trade deal with the UK.

"And any trade deal we do with the UK would have to include agriculture. Agriculture is extremely important to the President."

The Ambassador branded talk of hormone-injected beef and chlorine-washed chicken a "marketing campaign" that’s "designed by the EU", and said US meat is "safe, cost-effective and humane".

"Our farms are primarily run by individual families," he said. "My mother was driving a tractor until her 90s on her organic farm."

He added: "We have the lowest level of food poisoning in the United States.

"I think 250m people in the US would demand if they thought there was anything wrong with the safety of their chicken… we have a very active legal system."

4. Theresa May could face defeat over Brexit… again

Theresa May could face a defeat in the House of Lords over Brexit later today.

Labour , Crossbench and Lib Dem peers in the House of Lords are tabling an amendment calling for "all necessary steps" to enter a customs union with the EU.

Any defeat over the Trade Bill, however, would have a decent chance of being overturned again in the Commons – where MPs have already voted against Labour’s customs union plans.

5. Donald Tusk says ‘external anti-European forces’ influenced EU referendum

European Council president Donald Tusk suggested that "external anti-European forces" had tried to subvert the Brexit referendum in 2016.

He echoed comments by French President Emmanuel Macron who accused Brexiteers of lying about the consequences of leaving the EU and suggested Britain would end up being part of a reformed Europe in the future.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels with the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, Mr Tusk said he backed Mr Macron’s initiative, adding: "There are external anti-European forces, which are seeking – openly or secretly – to influence the democratic choices of Europeans, as was the case with Brexit and a number of election campaigns across Europe.

"And it may again be the case with the European elections in May."

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