Trade agreements of the United Kingdom

This article possibly contains unsourced predictions, speculative material, or accounts of events that might not occur. Information must be verifiable and based on reliable published sources. Please help by removing unsourced speculative content. (October 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

This article is part of a series on
Politics of the United Kingdom
show Constitution Parliamentary sovereignty Rule of law Other constitutional principles
show The Crown The Monarch (List) Elizabeth II Heir Apparent Charles, Prince of Wales Royal family Succession Prerogative Counsellors of State
show Executive Privy Council Elizabeth II (Queen-in-Council) HM Government Prime Minister (List) Boris Johnson (C) First Secretary of State Dominic Raab (C) Cabinet (List) Departments Ministers Agencies
show Legislature UK Parliament Elizabeth II (Queen-in-Parliament) House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord McFall of Alcluith House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer (L) Act of Parliament 58th Parliament Opposition List of MPs
show Judiciary Elizabeth II (Queen-on-the-Bench) Supreme Court President The Lord Reed Deputy President The Lord Hodge Justices of the Supreme Court UK England and Wales Scotland NI
show Elections & Referendums UK Parliament Constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies) Political parties Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 Scottish Parliament Constituencies and Electoral Regions Senedd Constituencies and Electoral Regions UK General Elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832–33 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan–Feb) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 Next European Parliament Elections (1979–2019) 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Scottish Parliament Elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Northern Ireland Assembly Elections 1998 2003 2007 2011 2016 2017 Next Senedd Elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 UK Referendums 1975 2011 2016
show Devolution Joint Ministerial Committee Legislative consent motions  England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority 1998 Referendum Greater London Authority Act 1999 (2007 Act) Mayor of London Sadiq Khan Mayoral cabinet London Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Cornwall Council Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Act 1998 (2006 Act) First Minister Paul Givan deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Law of Northern Ireland  Scotland 1997 Referendum Scotland Act 1998 (2012 Act, 2016 Act) First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Government Scottish Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scots law  Wales 1997 Referendum (2011 Referendum on law-making powers) Government of Wales Act 1998 (2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017) First Minister Mark Drakeford Government Senedd Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011) Act of Senedd Cymru Welsh law
show Administration England History Subdivisions: Regions Ceremonial counties (list) Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties Metropolitan county Non-metropolitan county Greater London Unitary authorities (list) Districts (list) Metropolitan Borough Non-metropolitan District London Borough Civil parishes (list) Historic counties Northern Ireland History Subdivisions: Counties Districts Scotland History Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms Council areas Community council areas Civil parishes Shires of Scotland Wales History Preserved counties Principal areas Communities (list) Historic counties
show Crown Dependencies Bailiwick of Guernsey ( Guernsey  Alderney  Sark)  Bailiwick of Jersey  Isle of Man British Islands Common Travel Area
show Overseas Territories  Akrotiri and Dhekelia  Anguilla  Bermuda  British Antarctic Territory  British Indian Ocean Territory  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Falkland Islands  Gibraltar  Montserrat  Pitcairn Islands  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( Saint Helena  Ascension Island  Tristan da Cunha)  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands  Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements Visa policies British Overseas Territories Act 2002 Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Gibraltar sovereignty dispute Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute
show Foreign relations Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Foreign policy (History) Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom UK Passport British National (Overseas) Passport Visa requirements Visa policy Trade agreements Australia Belgium Canada China Hong Kong Cyprus France Germany India Kenya Malaysia Malta Netherlands New Zealand Russia Singapore Spain South Africa Pakistan Portugal United States Ireland Politics of Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement UK–Ireland border Brexit and the Irish border British–Irish Council European Union (History) Brexit Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union UK–EU withdrawal agreement The Commonwealth Member states of the Commonwealth United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 NATO G20 G7
United Kingdom portal Other countries
v t

Following its withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom began negotiations on several free trade agreements to remove or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, both to establish new agreements and to replace previous EU trade agreements. Withdrawal ended 47 years of membership during which all its trading agreements were negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the bloc as a whole. The UK did not actually withdraw from the European Single Market and the European Union Customs Union (and its trade agreements) until 31 December 2020.

As of July 2021, the United Kingdom has concluded three new trade agreements: with Japan; with its biggest trading partner, the EU; and with Australia. In addition, it has agreed 35 'trade continuity agreements' (that replicate their pre-existing agreements with the EU) covering 67 nations by June 2021. In addition, it has begun other negotiations, notably to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The current Johnson ministry describes itself as a proponent of free trade.^[1][2]

The UK's negotiating team will consult with its Strategic Trade Advisory Group throughout the negotiations.^[3]

Competence and ratification process[]

UK trade agreements

  United Kingdom, overseas territories and crown dependencies

  Agreements currently in effect

  Agreement being negotiated

According to UK law the United Kingdom Parliament has the power to pass law in all policy areas.^[4]

Competence within the United Kingdom[]

The United Kingdom Government has reserved powers over matters regarding international trade and agreements as well as the right and power to legislate over any matter due to parliamentary sovereignty. However United Kingdom Government will normally seek a consent motion from the Devolved Parliament (s) when areas within Agreement (s) collide with matters of devolved competence regardless of their ability to legislate.

Ratification[]

The responsibility for concluding treaties involving the UK lies with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. This remains the case even when the negotiation of the treaty is led by another government department.^[5]

The FCO's Legal Advisers and Treaty Section:

• must be given the opportunity to comment on the drafts of all treaties under negotiation
• will advise on the form and substance of the treaty, though not substance which is technical and of which the other government department is the expert
• will advise on related matters such as the production of Full Powers and Instruments of Ratification
• will produce original signature copies of treaties and advise on the treaty signing ceremony
• will arrange for the treaty to be published and laid before Parliament;

is responsible for the registration of these treaties with the UN, allowing their subsequent publication in the United Nations Treaty Series

• will transfer of the treaties to the National Archives for preservation^[5]

Unless expressly authorised to do so by HMG in the UK, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories do not have the authority to become a party to treaties in their own right. The UK must extend the territorial scope of its ratification of treaties to include them. This is normally done either at the time of ratification, or at some later date.^[5]

Obsolete agreements[]

Signed agreements[]

As of 29 December 2020, the UK had 38 trade agreements^[6] with 96 countries, some through the use of a mutatis mutandis concept, in order to quickly replicate the existing agreements between the EU and these countries, only having to call out those minor areas of differentiation (this allowed some agreements to be reduced to around 40 pages from the original around 1400). Among them are significant economies — by nominal GDP — such as the European Union, South Korea, Switzerland, Israel and South Africa.

Most of these treaties have not formally entered into force on 1 January 2021.^[7] However, for many these treaties will be provisionally applied, or through a "bridging mechanism" (exchange of diplomatic notes verbale etc) continuity is achieved.^[7]

Signed agreements that are being joined by new countries[]

Mutual recognition agreements[]

Mutual recognition in relation to Conformity assessment, Certificates and Markings

Agreements being negotiated[]

Agreements at pre-negotiation stage[]

UK top 10 trading partners[]

The figures above cover up to 2019 only.^[79]

See also[]

• List of free trade agreements
• List of multilateral trade agreements
• List of bilateral trade agreements
• UK common framework policies – UK internal market policies post-Brexit
• UK - Crown Dependencies Customs Union – Free trade area

Notes[]

References[]