In the final phase, after the European Parliament has given its compliant opinion, the Council adopts the decision on the conclusion of the agreement. A free trade agreement aims to promote trade – usually with goods, but also sometimes with services – by making it cheaper. This is often achieved by reducing or eliminating so-called tariffs – taxes or taxes on cross-border trade. Currently, more than three hundred free trade agreements are in force at the international level, covering about one third of international trade. These agreements differ considerably in their scale and ambitions. Trade agreements are generally very complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities, from agriculture to intellectual property. But they share a number of fundamental principles. Following an agreement with the partners on the text of the agreement, the Commission submits formal proposals to the Council for its adoption. While a member of the EU, the UK was automatically part of some 40 trade agreements that the EU has concluded with more than 70 countries.

In 2018, these activities accounted for about 11% of total trade in the UK. The UK has left the EU, but its trade relations remain unchanged until the end of the year. That`s because it`s in an 11-month transition – designed to give both sides some time to negotiate a new trade deal. It is important to say that even where the UK has shaken up agreements, they are not necessarily identical to the corresponding EU agreements. Thus, the United Kingdom and Switzerland were only able to agree on the maintenance of a minority of the mutual recognition agreements in force between the EU and Switzerland. This is because, in a number of regulatory areas, Switzerland maintains legal equivalence with the EU and therefore cannot commit to mutual recognition of the UK`s practices unless the UK also complies with EU standards in these areas. Similar questions arise with regard to Iceland, Norway and Turkey. Any trade agreement will aim to remove tariffs and remove other trade barriers that come into force. It will also cover both goods and services. Choose a country to find market information and contact a sales representative for advice and export contacts. The UK and THE EU are negotiating a trade deal that is expected to start on 1 January 2021, when the new UK-EU relationship will begin.