- The UK and Canada have today signed a trade agreement
in Canada.
- Today’s agreement secures transatlantic trade with a
trading partnership worth £20 billion last year.
- Both countries to negotiate a new, tailor-made
UK-Canada trade deal in 2021.
The UK’s Deputy High Commissioner for Canada David Reed,
and Canadian Deputy Minister of International Trade John
Hannaford have today (Wednesday 9 December) signed the
UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement in Ottawa.
The signing comes after both countries last month announced
an ‘agreement in
principle’ to roll over current trading arrangements
and begin negotiations on a new, bespoke UK-Canada trade
deal in 2021.
Today’s agreement gives certainty for UK businesses
exporting goods and services to Canada worth £11.4 billion.
The trade deal supports British industries including
automotive manufacturing and food and drink, which between
them provide jobs for more than half a million people
across the UK.
Overall, an estimated £42 million tariff burden on UK
exports has been saved. The benefits locked in under the
agreement signed today include:
- Future zero tariffs on UK car exports to Canada, which
were worth £757 million last year, supporting factories and
jobs in our communities. Without this agreement, Canada’s
standard tariffs on cars of 6.1% would apply.
- Tariff-free trade on 98% of goods that can be exported
to Canada including beef, fish and seafood and soft drinks.
- UK producers will continue to benefit from zero tariffs
on many agricultural and seafood exports including
chocolate, confectionary, fruit and vegetables, bread,
pastries and fish. Last year the UK exported £344m worth of
agri-food goods to Canada.
- Without the continuity agreement, Canadian food
products such as maple syrup, biscuits and salmon could
have been more expensive for British consumers as they
would face taxes of up to 8% when entering the UK under the
UK Global Tariff.
International Trade Secretary said:
This is a brilliant deal for Global Britain. It secures
£20bn worth of trade with a friend and ally that shares
our commitment to free enterprise, democracy and free
trade. It provides certainty for car and food and drink
exporters in particular, and paves the way for a more
advanced deal that goes further and faster in modern
areas like digital and data, women’s economic empowerment
and the environment.
The deal also takes us a step closer to joining the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, a high standards agreement of
11 dynamic Pacific nations. Membership would deepen
market access for our businesses, help turn us into a
global hub for tech and services trade, and strengthen
the global consensus for rules-based free trade.
All nations and regions will benefit from preferential
access to Canadian markets. For example, together the West
Midlands and North West regions exported over £1.2 billion
worth of goods to Canada last year, while Scotland and
Northern Ireland collectively exported £1 billion.
In under two years, the UK government has agreed trade
deals with 55 countries accounting for £170 billion of UK
bilateral trade.
Notes to Editors:
- The Agreement text will be laid in the libraries of
both Houses alongside an accompanying Explanatory
Memorandum and a Parliamentary Report. They will also be
published on the gov.uk website.
- Total trade between the UK and Canada was worth £19.9
billion in the four quarters to end of Q1 2020
- The UK will continue to be covered by the EU-Canada FTA
during the transition period. This agreement will come into
effect on 1 January 2021.
- Source of statistics on trade with Canada: ONS UK
Economic Accounts, Q2 2020 release.
- Source of regional trade statistics: HMRC Regional
Trade in Goods, Q2 2020 release.
