Provisions allowing the UK to sell products containing European Union parts to Canada tariff-free will expire on Monday, after the two countries failed to reach an agreement on extensions.
While UK government officials are trying to play down the impact on British industry, especially car-makers, one critic is calling it “embarrassing” for the country’s post-Brexit trade policy that it was unable to reach a deal even with a close ally.
Forming closer trade ties with countries outside the EU was touted by Brexiteers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as a key benefit of leaving the bloc. But so far the UK has only signed new bilateral free-trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, and those deals have been criticized by MPs and farmers alike.
The failure to secure an extension on so-called rules of origin provisions with Canada, even after last-ditch talks between UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and her Canadian counterpart Mary Ng on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization conference in Abu Dhabi at the end of February, underlines just how difficult it…
While UK government officials are trying to play down the impact on British industry, especially car-makers, one critic is calling it “embarrassing” for the country’s post-Brexit trade policy that it was unable to reach a deal even with a close ally.
Expand
Forming closer trade ties with countries outside the EU was touted by Brexiteers, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as a key benefit of leaving the bloc. But so far the UK has only signed new bilateral free-trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand, and those deals have been criticized by MPs and farmers alike.
The failure to secure an extension on so-called rules of origin provisions with Canada, even after last-ditch talks between UK Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and her Canadian counterpart Mary Ng on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization conference in Abu Dhabi at the end of February, underlines just how difficult it…
