Britain on Tuesday introduced it had signed an £18.6 billion ($25 billion, 20.5 billion euro) commerce take care of Turkey that “lays the groundwork” for a extra complete post-Brexit settlement sooner or later.
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Ahead of the signing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned it might be “our most important agreement since the customs union deal” which Turkey struck with the European Union in 1995.
Given Turkey’s standing within the EU customs union, Britain needed to wait till it lastly agreed a commerce take care of Brussels final week earlier than it might finalize the phrases of the settlement with Ankara.
The British authorities known as the take care of Turkey, which largely replicates the present buying and selling relationship, a “major win for UK automotive, manufacturing and steel industries”.
The settlement “paves the way for a new, more ambitious deal with Turkey in the near future, and is part of our plan to put the UK at the center of a network of modern agreements with dynamic economies”, mentioned commerce minister Liz Truss.
Preferential tariffs can be maintained for the 7,600 UK companies that export items to Turkey, defending provide chains for automotive producers based mostly in Britain.
US auto large Ford welcomed the announcement, with European president Stuart Rowley calling it “extremely significant”.
Ford’s Dagenham manufacturing facility in London exports a lot of its diesel engine manufacturing to the Ford Otosan three way partnership in Turkey, the place the engines are fitted into Ford Transit autos.
“Given that Ford and Ford Otosan business constitutes more than 10 percent of the total trade volume between the UK and Turkey, this trade agreement is extremely significant for us and will help to secure jobs in both countries,” Rowley mentioned.
Britain has now signed commerce agreements with 62 nations following its 2016 resolution to depart the EU.
Andy Burwell, director at enterprise foyer group CBI, mentioned Turkey’s deep buying and selling relationship with the EU meant an settlement was “complicated”.
But the “pace at which the deal has been finalized… shows the strength and depth of the relationship”, he mentioned.
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Last Update: Tuesday, 29 December 2020 KSA 17:50 – GMT 14:50
