UK and Turkey sign post-Brexit free trade deal
The UK and Turkey have signed a free trade deal that will secure tariff-free trading arrangements between the two countries after Britain leaves the EU.
The continuity deal, signed today by trade secretary Liz Truss, means the existing trade relationship will be maintained after the Brexit transition period ends this week.
The two countries also committed to working on a fresh trade deal, which they said would go further than the existing agreement and be tailored to the UK economy.
It comes just days before the transition period ends. An agreement was not possible until the UK struck a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, as Turkey is in a customs union with the bloc.
The government said the continuity arrangement will secure preferential tariffs for the 7,600 UK businesses that exported goods to Turkey last year.
“Today’s deal covers trade worth more than £18bn, delivers vital certainty for business and supports thousands of jobs across the UK in the manufacturing, automotive and steel industries,” Truss said in a statement.
“It paves the way for a new, more ambitious deal with Turkey in the near future, and is part of our plan to put the UK at the centre of a network of modern agreements with dynamic economies. More trade and investment will drive economic growth across our United Kingdom and help us build back stronger from Covid.”
The deal will come as a major boost to companies in the automotive and manufacturing sectors that rely on Turkey for their supply chains.
Last year UK car exports to Turkey were worth £174m, with manufacturers such as Ford importing parts from Britain to Turkey for assembly.
Stuart Rowley, president of Ford Europe, welcomed the continuity trade agreement.
“Given that Ford and Ford Otosan business constitutes more than 10 per cent of the total trade volume between the UK and Turkey, this trade agreement is extremely significant for us and will help to secure jobs in both countries,” he said.
The latest agreement means the UK has now secured post-Brexit trade deals with 62 countries, covering £885bn of trade.