UK Minister Hopeful for a Free Trade Deal with Canada within a Year
Come take a look at our article to learn more about the UK's potential free trade agreement with Canada, which could be finalized before the end of 2023.
It’s been about a year-and-a-half since the UK’s trade deals as part of the European Union (EU) officially ended. In that time, the UK government has been busy trying to create and secure new trade deals with various partners around the globe. It appears that the timeline to finish a trade deal with Canada is about a year from now.
UK–Canada Trade Talks
On a North American trip, UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan stated in an interview with the Canadian press that she expects the two nations will finalize a trade deal by mid-2023. The trip signaled the beginning of formal trade talks between Trevelyan and her Canadian counterpart, Mary Ng. The UK was Canada’s third-largest individual trading partner for combined goods and services trade in 2021. The value of the total goods and services traded between the two equaled $42.2 billion (CAD). Of that, Canada exported $24.1 billion in goods and services to the UK and imported $18.1 billion in goods and services.
A Question of Priorities
Given these figures, one might expect Canada to be eager to secure a new, formal agreement as soon as possible. But there are several factors to consider. First, it’s important to note that the UK has to sign new deals with everybody after leaving the EU. All of their previous deals were covered by agreements with the union, so Britain has been very busy trying to negotiate a whole new slate of deals. And while there are fair criticisms to level against the UK government for how they have gone about this task, and to so-called Brexiteers who appeared to underestimate how much work these new deals would require, there have also been extenuating circumstances, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Add to that the fact that deals with larger or closer economies, such as the US or the EU, would naturally take precedence for the UK, and it's easy to see why a deal with Canada might not be the UK's top priority. However, this is not necessarily a problem for Canada. In November 2020, the UK and Canada agreed to an interim agreement that preserved the main elements of CETA, Canada's agreement with the EU. This included eliminating tariffs on 98% of Canadian exports to the UK. Given this, it's understandable that the Canadian government would be hesitant to formalize a new agreement.
The CPTPP
The UK has stated their desire to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. At present, this agreement consists only of nations with Pacific coastlines, but the UK’s chances of joining seem good. Eleven countries are signatories to the agreement, so Britain may prefer to focus on gaining admittance to the CPTPP before finalizing a one-to-one deal with Canada.
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