UK turns to emerging markets as Brexit talks begin

Government promises improved access to UK markets for world’s poorest countries

Britain is turning to the poorest countries to shore up trade as Brexit puts existing deals on an uncertain footing.

The government promises improved access to UK markets for the world’s poorest countries and to maintain existing duty-free access for “everything but arms” for 48 countries including Bangladesh, Sierra Leone and Haiti, according to an emailed statement from the prime minister’s office.

Britain will also seek to expand relationships with nations including Jamaica, Pakistan and Ghana. After decades of access to the European Union’s single market, the UK now has to strike out alone, following the 2016 vote to leave the bloc. In the Brexit negotiations that began on June 19 in Brussels, the EU is demanding clarity on the future of its citizens living in Britain before talks on a post-EU trading relationship begin.

Trade secretary Liam Fox has been in talks with countries including India and US to lay the groundwork for new deals, since the government is barred from completing talks while still part of the EU. “Our departure from the EU is an opportunity to step up to our commitments to the rest of the world, not step away from them,” he said. The announcement “shows our commitment to helping developing countries grow their economies and reduce poverty through trade”.

Import figures

The UK currently imports around £20 billion (Dh93.34 billion, $25.6 billion) a year from developing nations including Bangladesh and Sierra Leone, the government said. Almost 80 per cent of the country’s tea comes from the “least developed” nations, and slightly less than a quarter of all coffee imports. Japan wants to hold informal free trade talks with Britain as it also works to sign a deal with the European Union, a report said yesterday.

Tokyo’s moves aim to minimise Brexit’s impact on Japanese companies as Britain negotiates its exit from the EU, the business daily

reported. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wants to reach a basic free trade agreement with the EU next month.

More than 1,000 Japanese companies operate in Britain, employing some 140,000 people in the country, while Japan’s direct investment in the UK has topped 10 trillion yen (Dh329.77 billion, $96 billion) to date.

Japan’s major automakers have so far backed the British economy, with Toyota announcing a €240 million investment in a car assembly plant while Nissan gave the green light to new investments at its plant in northeast England. The announcements raised questions about what assurances they had been offered by the British government.

Japan is planning to start informal talks with Britain while it remains in the EU, but will wait until the country has left the bloc before launching formal bilateral negotiations, the report said.

“As [the UK] is not allowed to launch formal negotiations with a third country under the EU rules, the Japanese and British governments will prepare [informal] talks behind the scenes,” it said.