A new world of exports

As an EU member, the UK was automatically part of 3 trade agreements (FTAs) with 37 partners that have come fully into force, FTAs with 43 partners, that are provisionally applied and FTA negotiations with another 19 countries.

Whilst the deadline for requesting an extension is officially 30th June, the real date on the UK side was 12th June, which passed on Friday and the UK has formally confirmed that they will NOT be requesting an extension and will not agree to one should the EU request.

So, that’s it, Brexit on 31st December 2020 is guaranteed and the UK needs to broker its own trade deals.

The outlook for a FTA with the EU is looking bleak, which is unfortunate given that 49% of UK trade is with Europe and so far, the19 trade deals agreed by the UK, covering 50 countries or territories, have been agreed, representing just over 8% of total UK trade. We will continue to update on developments and negotiations relevant to global trade, that may affect Metro’s customers.

The government has opened negotiations another 18 countries, with many key export markets served by Metro, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The signed deals:

• Kosovo (£8m of trade in 2018)
• Jordan (£448m in 2018)
• Morocco (£2.5bn in 2018)
• Georgia (£123m in 2018)
• Southern African nations (£10.2bn in 2018)
• Tunisia (£542m in 2018)
• Lebanon (£762m in 2018)
• South Korea (£14.8bn in 2018)
• Central America (£1.1bn in 2018)
• Andean countries (£3.4bn in 2018)
• Caribbean countries (£3.7bn in 2018)
• Pacific Islands (£163m in 2018)
• Liechtenstein (£146m in 2018)
• Israel (£4.2bn in 2018)
• Palestinian Authority (£41m in 2018)
• Switzerland (£32.4bn in 2018)
• The Faroe Islands (£252m in 2018)
• Eastern and Southern Africa (£2bn in 2018)
• Chile (£2bn in 2018)

The Metro Brexit team will continue to advise the latest information related to global trade.