UK free trade agreements with non-EU countries – a work in progress.

On 21st February 2019, the Department for International Trade (DIT) published a document outlining the UK’s progress in negotiating new free trade agreements (FTAs) with a number of non-EU countries. It advises UK firms that FTAs with Turkey and Japan will not be finalised before the official exit day from the European Union – 29th March 2019. Many business groups expressed concern at this news.

The EU has successfully negotiated a number of FTAs. These deals enable all 28 states in the European Union Custom Union (EU-CU), including the UK, to trade at preferential (i.e. lower) tariffs with over 70 non-EU countries. These include Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Israel, Norway, South Africa and Turkey. Research by the CBI estimates that UK exports to these countries were approximately £41bn in 2017 – approximately 13 per cent of all UK exports. In July 2018, the EU signed its largest ever FTA – with Japan. This deal covers 635 million people.

If the UK leaves the European Union without a deal on the 29th March, then it immediately loses membership of the EU-CU. Preferential tariffs will no longer apply to trade between the UK and the non-EU countries which signed the FTAs. Without any new arrangements in place, tariffs and quotas will revert to the non-preferential (i.e. higher) rates outlined in registered schedules with the World Trade Organization.

Given the economic significance of this trade, the UK government has spent the past two years trying to negotiate new FTAs to replace those previously agreed by the EU. For example, on February 11th, the government announced that it had signed a ‘continuity agreement’ with Switzerland covering trade worth £32bn per year. Deals have also been finalised with Chile, Israel, and the Faroe Islands that replicate the terms of the EU agreements. However, government officials informed 30 business groups in early February that it was highly unlikely that most of the new replacement FTAs would be concluded in time for March 29th.

The document published by the DIT on the 21st February confirms this position and describes the current status of most of the new FTAs as:

Engagement ongoing

For both Japan and Turkey, the outlook is more negative. The guidance states:

We will not transition this agreement for exit day.

The head of EU negotiations at the CBI commented that:

We are really concerned that firms could be blindsided by this.

The government stated that it would significantly increase the resources devoted to the trade negotiations and expected to sign more deals over the next couple of weeks.

If the UK leaves the EU on the 29th March with a deal, then it remains in the EU-CU during the 21-month transition period. Trade will still be covered by the 40 existing EU deals. This gives UK officials until the end of December 2020 to conclude a new set of FTAs.

Articles

• Brexit: UK has rolled over just £16bn out of £117bn trade deals

The Guardian (13/2/19)

• Brexit: What trade deal has the UK done so far?

BBC News (21/2/19)

• Leavers are discovering the difficult truth about trade deals

The Guardian (16/2/19)

• UK signs post-Brexit trade deal with Switzerland

BBC News (11/2/19)

Government information

• Existing trade agreements if the UK leaves the EU without a deal

DIT (21/2/19)

Questions