Back to the future? The UK’s free trade agreements after Brexit

Ensuring that the UK’s trading relationships continue on the same footing as now is vital as, in 2018, 49% of the UK’s trade was with the EU, 11% with countries that are parties to EU FTAs and 40% with the rest of the world.¹ All businesses engaged in trade involving the UK that is impacted by the terms of an EU-third State FTA are potentially affected by the outcome of these negotiations.

In this article, we analyse the UK’s changing ability to negotiate FTAs, the UK’s progress in securing the continuity of its trading relationships with third States and the current state of play in respect of the UK’s efforts to secure freestanding FTAs with the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, as well as the UK’s “pivot to the Asia Pacific region”.

_{¹These figures are taken from here}