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The UK and Turkey will sign a free trade agreement by video conference on Tuesday, the first since London reached a post-Brexit deal with the EU last Thursday. Financial Times reports.
“The agreement that we intend to sign this week includes duty-free trade agreements and will help sustain our business relationships” which “were worth £ 18.6 billion last year.
The deal will secure thousands of jobs across the UK in the manufacturing, automotive and steel sectors, ”said Liz Truss, Secretary for International Trade.
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The UK is Turkey’s second-largest export market, but Ankara’s customs union with the EU prevented a free trade deal until a deal was concluded between London and Brussels on Brexit. .
A British official told the FT that there was a “feeling of immediate relief” over the deal, as both Turkish producers and their British counterparts were concerned about the prospect of a no-deal. The new agreement seeks to replicate current trade terms between the UK and Turkey, with duty-free trade in all non-agricultural products, adds the Financial Times. London also agreed to renew Turkey’s preferential tariffs on certain agricultural products as part of its customs union with the EU.
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The agreement also contains a review clause within the next two years to consider whether to further expand the agreement to include services, including digital, and more liberal regulations on trade and agriculture. Ankara has long sought a similar update to its customs agreement with the EU, but the process has been halted largely for political reasons due to disputes between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European leaders. Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan confirmed – the British newspaper still reports – that the draft agreement is “ready for signature.”
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