Liam Fox scrambles to sign trade deals after leaked list reveals just six out of 40 will be done in time for Brexit

TRADE boss Liam Fox is scrambling to sign promise letters for trade deals in the future as it emerges just six will be done in time for Brexit.

The government has promised to rollover 40 current EU free trade deals with 70 different countries, so they will still apply to the UK under a no deal Brexit.

But a secret tally leaked to The Sun has revealed that just a handful will be ready in time when the UK leaves on March 29.

Instead, the International Trade Secretary is battling to persuade dozens of other countries to carry out an exchange of “letters of understanding”.

A minister told The Sun: “We’re not going to get many of the deals over the line in time now.

“What we hope to have instead is letters of understanding with all the remaining countries, which will go some way to reassuring business.”

The current tally drawn up by the Department for International Trade lists progress of the 40 deal rollovers in four colour-coded tables.

Only six are in green table, signifying they will be done by March 29.

They are the four already agreed, with Switzerland – signed on Monday – Chile, an Eastern and Southern African block, and the Faroe Islands.

In addition, deals with Israel and the Palestinian Authority are “on track”.

Amber warnings are given to nine countries – including major agreements with economic powerhouses South Korea and Canada – which are dubbed: “Deliverability by March 29 as off-track”.

And red and black warnings are given to 23 other EU deals, including big trading partners Japan, Turkey and Mexico, which are given no chance of being completed by Brexit Day.

They are classed either “significantly off-track” or “not possible to be completed by March 2019”.

Dr Fox tried to play down his chances of success this week, insisting the number of trade deals was “not a numbers game”, but instead the focus should be on the “proportion of trade we can maintain”.

A spokesman for the Department for International Trade last night would not deny the leaked tally’s grim prognosis.

But he added: “This does not reflect the whole picture: in 2018, around 12% of UK trade took place under EU Trade Agreements in force.

“We have already signed a number of agreements including with Switzerland, the largest of these. We continue to work to replicate as many of these as possible, until exit day, to ensure the maximum continuity of UK trade.

“Of course, the best way to ensure that all existing agreements continue to apply is to pass the Withdrawal Agreement.”

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