Four years after Brexit, government struggling to sign FTAs; New border rules taking effect Wednesday add to EU friction
Rishi Sunak’s hopes for a string of high-value deals that would cement Britain’s position as trading nation are fading fast, four years after the UK officially left the European Union.
The prime minister had hoped for Free Trade Agreements the US, India and others to lift a stuttering UK economy. But those have stalled over issues ranging from migration to meat imports. Discussions with Canada came to an abrupt halt last week.
It’s left the Britain relying on progress from a dwindling club of smaller countries including South Korea to Persian Gulf nations. That’s a setback for Sunak’s ambition to pump up growth and his sagging poll ratings ahead of the next election.
“Since the Brexit referendum, the global trading landscape has changed significantly,” said Raoul Ruparel, senior director at Boston Consulting Group’s Centre for Growth. “Focus is now much less on FTAs and more on industrial strategy and protecting supply chains. This means that many FTAs the UK hoped to have landed by now are taking much longer or are unlikely to happen at all.”
The UK's Trade Intensity Has Fallen Behind Peers Since Brexit
Exports plus imports as a percentage of GDP (2019 = 100)
Source: Bloomberg Economics
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