The UK has secured its first post-Brexit trade deal following an agreement with Japan. The government claimed the agreement will boost trade with Japan by £15.2bn over the next 15 years and UK businesses will enjoy tariff-free trade on 99% of exports to the country.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has agreed the deal in principle, with Japan’s foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi.
Ms Truss said the deal “goes far beyond” the EU-Japan trade deal that the UK will leave after the Brexit transition period later this year.
She also hailed the agreement as an “important step” towards the UK joining a wider 11-nation trade deal, known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson tweeted, “We have taken back control of our trade policy and will continue to thrive as a trading nation outside the EU.”
Government analysis found out that a deal with japan will boost UK’s GDP by 0.07% over 15 years and increase UK workers by £800m in the long run.
The agreement comes as the UK’s negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU continues to stall, with both sides admitting that “significant” differences remain in key areas despite the completion of eight rounds of talks.
Ms Truss also hailed the agreement as “a historic moment for the UK and Japan” as it represented the “first major post-Brexit trade deal.”
She said, “The agreement we have negotiated – in record time and in challenging circumstances – goes far beyond the existing EU deal, as it secures new wins for British businesses in our great manufacturing, food and drink, and tech industries.
“From our automotive workers in Wales to our shoemakers in the North of England, this deal will help build back better as we create new opportunities for people throughout the whole of the UK and help level up our country.
“Strategically, the deal is an important step towards joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and placing Britain at the centre of a network of modern free trade agreements with like-minded friends and allies.”
Department for Trade figures reveal that in 2018, the UK’s trade with the EU was worth £659.5bn while trade with Japan was worth £29.1bn.
Quizzed as to whether the estimated £1.5bn uplift to UK GDP over 15 years from a Japan deal was significant considering it is a fraction of NHS spending alone, trade minister Greg Hands told reporters, “This is the first of what we hope will be a series of deals.
“Our Conservative manifesto commitment is for 80% of UK trade to be covered by such deals within the next three years.”
The news of an agreement also represents a breakthrough after suggestions last month that negotiations had stalled over access to food and agricultural products.
EU member, Greg Hands acknowledged that the UK will now be able to export more agricultural produce to Japan than it could while an EU member.
He said, “We’ve secured geographic indicators for 70 products rather than just seven, including Cornish pasties, including Melton Mowbray pork pies – a lot of iconic British produce.
“In terms of the actual tariff-rate quotas involved, we’ve got really good access on pork, on beef. There’s £430m worth of food and drink exports to Japan each year from the UK.
“We’ve got key continuity and improvement across most of those produce, so I think its good news for agricultural exports into Japan.”
