Britain will have at least two bumper free trade deals in place after Brexit transition ends
Deals with the likes of Australia and New Zealand are expected to be prioritised so ministers can show voters they are delivering on referendum promises
BRITAIN will have at least two bumper new free trade deals signed and ready to implement on the day the transition period ends, according to internal government forecasts.
Deals with the likes of Australia and New Zealand are expected to be prioritised so ministers can show voters they are delivering on referendum promises on the day Britain is finally free of EU rules on January 1 2021.
These will be in addition to dozens of current free trade agreements that Britain currently enjoys as a member of the EU that Theresa May wants to roll over after Brexit.
These include comprehensive trade deals with South Korea, Canada, South Africa and Chile.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox will finally be able to start negotiating and signing free trade deals with third countries when Britain leaves the EU next March.
But the deals can’t be implemented until the 21-month transition deals ends on December 31 2020.
The Department for International Trade has already started to lay the foundations for bumper trade deals by setting up working groups with more than 20 countries — including the US, Australia and New Zealand.
A source familiar with the internal working of DIT said: “I’d expect a minimum of two new trade deals to be ready to implement on January 1st 2021. That’s very doable”.
The source said deals with Australia and New Zealand would be the simplest to strike because they could be relatively simple and limited in what they cover — whereas other deals with the likes of Japan or the USA would take longer.
This is because British officials would have to ensure they are not “asymmetrical” and therefore favour Japanese and American consumers and businesses at the expense of Brits.
Under Labour’s plan to keep Britain in a customs union with the EU, the UK Government would be barred from striking independent trade deals.
Jeremy Corbyn has said deals with the likes of the US and China risk undermining worker rights and environmental standards.
But yesterday it emerged that Australia is preparing to demand Britain accepts hormone-treated beef in a post-Brexit trade deal.
Currently EU rules ban Britain from selling meat from cattle treated with growth hormones and Environment Secretary Michael Gove has vowed not to lower animal welfare standards after Brexit.
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It risks opening another rift between Mr Fox and Mr Gove over whether Britain should prioritise trade or environmental standards.
Mr Gove has won a battle over continuing to ban US chlorinated chicken.
A DIT spokesperson said: “Our priority is to secure continuity in the UK’s international trade arrangements as we leave the EU.
“We are working with a number of other countries to explore the best ways to develop our current trade and investment relationships and ensure that Britain becomes a global leader in free trade.”
The department also insisted that the Government had been “very clear that the UK will maintain its own high animal welfare and environmental standards in future free trade agreements. To say anything else is untrue.”
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