Brexit: UK signs continuity trade deal with Mexico
The UK has signed a continuity trade deal with Mexico, which will ensure trade between the two countries will not be disrupted after the Brexit transition period ends next year.
The deal will see the two countries continue to trade on the same terms as under the EU-Mexico trade deal, however both sides have now committed to start negotiations on a new trade agreement next year.
The UK-Mexico trade partnership is currently worth £5bn, with the automotive, pharmaceutical, textiles, agriculture, food and drink sectors the largest contributors.
International trade secretary Liz Truss said the deal is a step toward joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) of which Mexico is a member.
Before the Open newsletter: Start your day with the City View podcast and key market data
The partnership also includes countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore.
The UK will apply to join the trade bloc in early 2021.
“This is the seventh trade deal we’ve secured with a member of CPTPP, the grouping of 11 dynamic economies around the Pacific,” Truss said.
“So, it’s another really important stepping stone toward the UK joining CPTPP, and I look forward to making our application to do just that early next year.”
Truss has now signed rollover trade deals with a swathe of non-EU countries that will ensure the UK can trade with these nations on the same terms as it did pre-Brexit.
Countries that have signed continuity trade deals include Norway, Canada, South Korea, Ukraine, Switzerland, Israel and North Macedonia.
The rollover deals signed so far are with countries that make up more than 90 per cent of the UK’s current non-EU trade.