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UK and Turkey to sign free trade deal UK and Turkey to sign free trade deal this week
London and Ankara race to get agreement into force before Britain leaves EU single market
The UK and Turkey are set to sign a free trade deal on Tuesday, the first since Boris Johnson secured a new trade agreement with the EU.
The two countries have finalised the text of a “continuity agreement” that replicates existing trading terms between Ankara — which has a customs union agreement with Brussels — and London. Bilateral trade between the countries was worth nearly £19bn last year, according to the Department for International Trade.
The agreement is expected to be signed on a video call this week by representatives from each side. An exchange of diplomatic notes will then allow the deal to come into force even though there is not enough time for it to be ratified by the two countries’ parliaments before the UK leaves the EU single market on December 31.
The UK is Turkey’s second-biggest export market but Ankara’s customs union with the EU meant that a free trade agreement could not be finalised until a Brexit deal was in place. That raised fears among Turkish producers of white goods, cars and textiles that their products could be face hefty import tariffs and UK border delays if Britain crashed out of the 27-member bloc.
One British official said there was an “immediate sense of relief” at the agreement, adding that both Turkish manufacturers and their British counterparts had been anxious about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit
The deal seeks to replicate the trading terms that currently exist between the UK and Turkey, with tariff-free trade on all non-agricultural goods, according to British officials. The UK has also agreed to roll over the preferential tariffs that Turkey enjoys on some agricultural products under its customs union with the EU.
The agreement contains a review clause that requires the two nations to reconvene within the next two years to discuss expanding the deal further to include services, including digital services, and more liberal regulations on trade and agriculture.
Ankara has for years sought a similar upgrade to its customs agreement with the EU but the process has stalled as the relationship between president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European leaders has deteriorated. Many members of the bloc are alarmed by what they see as the Turkish leader’s growing authoritarianism at home and aggressive foreign policy.
The UK official said it would be easier for Britain to take a “pragmatic” approach with Turkey, adding that an upgraded free trade deal would be “win-win” for both countries.
Source: Financial Times
UK and Turkey to sign free trade deal this week
London and Ankara race to get agreement into force before Britain leaves EU single market
The UK and Turkey are set to sign a free trade deal on Tuesday, the first since Boris Johnson secured a new trade agreement with the EU.
The two countries have finalised the text of a “continuity agreement” that replicates existing trading terms between Ankara — which has a customs union agreement with Brussels — and London. Bilateral trade between the countries was worth nearly £19bn last year, according to the Department for International Trade.
The agreement is expected to be signed on a video call this week by representatives from each side. An exchange of diplomatic notes will then allow the deal to come into force even though there is not enough time for it to be ratified by the two countries’ parliaments before the UK leaves the EU single market on December 31.
The UK is Turkey’s second-biggest export market but Ankara’s customs union with the EU meant that a free trade agreement could not be finalised until a Brexit deal was in place. That raised fears among Turkish producers of white goods, cars and textiles that their products could be face hefty import tariffs and UK border delays if Britain crashed out of the 27-member bloc.
One British official said there was an “immediate sense of relief” at the agreement, adding that both Turkish manufacturers and their British counterparts had been anxious about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit
The deal seeks to replicate the trading terms that currently exist between the UK and Turkey, with tariff-free trade on all non-agricultural goods, according to British officials. The UK has also agreed to roll over the preferential tariffs that Turkey enjoys on some agricultural products under its customs union with the EU.
The agreement contains a review clause that requires the two nations to reconvene within the next two years to discuss expanding the deal further to include services, including digital services, and more liberal regulations on trade and agriculture.
Ankara has for years sought a similar upgrade to its customs agreement with the EU but the process has stalled as the relationship between president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European leaders has deteriorated. Many members of the bloc are alarmed by what they see as the Turkish leader’s growing authoritarianism at home and aggressive foreign policy.
The UK official said it would be easier for Britain to take a “pragmatic” approach with Turkey, adding that an upgraded free trade deal would be “win-win” for both countries.