To add an element of doubt, it's possible the UK is just playing a gigantic game of chicken (driving a horse & cart against the EU's 20 ton truck).But is is exactly the stuff the UK is now reversing and so far they don't have presented any alternative. That likely will mean a hard border and they will try to blame the EU for it.
It's hard to view things like it trying to query the EU's Designation of Origin rules as any kind of good faith negotiation, for instance. The EU will defend that to its dying breath, it makes sense only an absurd spoiler tactic.
No. In fact, this is what has spurred the latest major controversy.So do they actually even have Northern Ireland protocols sorted yet?
The UK agreed "frictionless" trade across the border between NI and Ireland, meaning that there would need to be some sort of internal customs checks between NI and the rest of the UK instead. This is what the UK signed up to in January with the EU-UK treaty. The government is now passing a law effectively scrapping that provision of the international treaty it signed so that there won't be custom checks, which means there must be checks at the Ireland/NI border instead. It has admitted it is knowingly breaking international law, in a "specific and limited" way. Civil servants who give the government legal advice have resigned: they advised the government it was illegal and have been ignored. Effectively, if parliament passes this bill, the UK is a rogue state that will not honour its international treaties. The Conservative Party MPs might rebel against the government in enough strength, but honestly I think they're far too weak and cowardly: pathetic little men and women out of their depth and without a backbone.
This another bizarre incident, because the USA and many of its leaders invested a lot into the NI peace process. It's incredible to believe they are going to accept the UK screwing the peace process over, and then hand the UK a trade deal as if nothing's happened. In fact, quite a few US politicians have flat out warned the UK that they won't get a trade deal if they do this. The UK is not the USA, large and powerful enough able to swan around making unilateral rules and forcing some degree of compliance for other countries.