On Saturday, the UK and Canada reached a temporary post-Brexit trade agreement extending the previous agreement when the country was part of the European Union.
The UK Trade Ministry stated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accompanied by Minister of International Trade Lise Tras and her Canadian counterpart, Mary Ng, reached an initial agreement that renews the current trade agreement between the two countries.
After praising the historical and cultural ties between the UK and Canada. Lisa said, “The agreement reached today strengthens trade exchanges by 20 billion pounds “22.4 billion euros” and guarantees thousands of jobs.”
On his part, Boris Johnson said, “This is a wonderful agreement for the UK, which guarantees transatlantic trade with one of our closest allies,” and expressed his hope that it would “boost” British exports to Canada.
The agreement has not yet been formally signed, and it is temporary because negotiations will be opened next year to “conclude a new, more ambitious agreement,” according to the British Minister of International Trade.
It now only includes the terms of the agreement signed between the EU and Canada and does not give any new concessions to British companies, but it exempts exporters from customs taxes estimated at 42 billion pounds “47 billion euros”, according to the British Ministry of International Trade.
This agreement will take effect on January 1, 2021, at the end of the Brexit period, in which Britain is bound by European rules after officially leaving Europe Union at the end of January.
Discussions between the UK and Brussels, its first economic partner, will resume next week after the discovery of a COVID-19 infection among the European negotiating team.
The negotiations focus on overcoming important differences between the two parties and avoiding the scenario of ending the transitional period “without an agreement.”
