UK signs Singapore trade deal as EU talks falter

Britain on Thursday signed a free-trade cope with Singapore, giving it a key foothold in Asia because it seeks to forge its personal path after leaving the European Union, whereas talks on a post-Brexit deal stumble.

The settlement largely replicates an present EU-Singapore pact, with the city-state saying it can cowl greater than 17 billion kilos (US$22 billion) in commerce.

It removes tariffs, offers each international locations entry to one another’s markets in companies and cuts non-tariff obstacles in electronics, automobiles and car components, pharmaceutical merchandise, medical units and renewable vitality technology, the ministry mentioned.

Duties will probably be eradicated by November 2024, the identical timeline because the settlement between the EU and Singapore, a former British colony that maintains shut hyperlinks with London.

As the deal was signed within the city-state, Britain’s International Trade Secretary Liz Truss praised Singapore for its management on free commerce.

“Now the United Kingdom is back as an independent trading nation, we are free to join this campaign,” she mentioned.

“Singapore is already the UK’s largest trade and investment partner in ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), while the UK is Singapore’s top investment destination in Europe.”

Her Singapore counterpart, Chan Chun Sing, mentioned the deal “provides British businesses a platform to access opportunities in the region through Singapore”.

Truss mentioned the settlement will take Britain a step nearer to becoming a member of a large free-trade zone, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, of which Singapore is a member.

The pact teams 11 Pacific Rim nations, amongst them Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam. A earlier model of the deal was as soon as championed by the US, however President Donald Trump deserted it.

Britain signed its first main post-Brexit commerce cope with Japan in October, however Thursday’s settlement is its first with a member of ASEAN.

The 10-country bloc is residence to 650 million individuals and — previous to the pandemic-induced downturn — had loved speedy financial progress lately.

Thursday’s signing got here after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave themselves till Sunday to determine on the way forward for post-Brexit negotiations, following a three-hour dinner that left the 2 sides “far apart”.

Britain and the EU are working out of time to succeed in an settlement on a future buying and selling relationship earlier than a post-Brexit transition interval finishes on the finish of the yr.