The United Kingdom and Canada are on the verge of signing a new trade agreement to replace the existing deal Britain has through the European Union.
The agreement would be a victory for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his efforts to plot a new course for Britain as a global trading nation outside the European Union, which the United Kingdom is in the process of leaving.
An announcement on the new trade deal is expected within days, according to government officials in Ottawa.
Without the new trade deal, the United Kingdom and Canada would face tariffs on trade starting on January 1 when the “Brexit” transition period ends and the United Kingdom will no longer be part of the Canada European Trade Agreement (CETA) that came into force in 2017. Trade between Canada and the United Kingdom was worth about 17 billion pounds ($23 billion U.S.) in 2019.
“Trade talks are at an advanced stage and progressing well,” the United Kingdom Department for International Trade said in a written statement. “The U.K. is committed to seeking to secure a continuity trade deal with Canada before the end of the transition period.”
The United Kingdom is Canada’s third-largest export market after the U.S. and China. In the first nine months of this year, Canada had exported $14 billion ($10.7 billion U.S.) in merchandise exports to the United Kingdom, while it imported $6.9 billion.
The Canada deal would be the second major trade accord announced by Britain in less than a month, after it agreed to terms with Japan in late October. Meanwhile, trade negotiations are ongoing between the United Kingdom and Australia, New Zealand and the U.S.