The United Kingdom and Canada achieved a new interim trade deal on Saturday, November 21, before the Brexit deadline on December 31. PM Boris Johnson and PM Justin Trudeau made the trade announcement at the beginning of the G20 virtual summit meeting. The deal between Canada and the UK, in essence, is a continuation of the previous Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada and the UK included. Still, the UK-Canada portion of the agreement would have expired when Brexit took into action.
PM Trudeau said the extension of the deal gives the time for the two countries to establish a more comprehensive agreement to boost things in favour of the two countries and pushed the trade opportunities to a maximum. A similar sentiment was also given by PM Johnson in his tweet, saying the fantastic trade agreement will keep the Canadian market open for the United Kingdom. Britain exports various products to Canada, from sparkling wine to electric cars and the trade deals, ensuring the trade is keeping strong. The new trade deal called the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement includes securing a free tariff on 98% of the goods traded between the two economies. In 2019, the total trade between the two nations totalled CAN$ 29 billion (around $22.2 billion).
Mary Ng, Canadian International Trade Minister, said that having an interim agreement is crucial to safeguards the exporters, businesses and workers in both countries to have the much-needed predictability and continuity. The trade deals assure the UK and Canada will maintain mutually beneficial and robust trade partnerships.
As the deal must be approved by both countries, Canada needs to have approval from its Parliament. Opposition politicians in Canada are criticising about the much limited time to study all deal provisions in detail as the traditional extended holiday break is approaching.
