"UK, Turkey reach post-Brexit free trade agreement"
"Turkish official hails deal as most significant trade pact for
Turkey since the signing of a customs union agreement with the EU
in 1995. Turkey and the United Kingdom signed a free-trade
agreement Tuesday as the UK prepares to leave the European Union's
economic orbit at the start of the new year.
The deal, which will come into effect on January 1, aims to
support trade between the two countries which was worth more than
$25 billion in 2019.
It is one of many post-Brexit trade deals the British government
is pursuing with nations around the world and came days after it
finalised a trade agreement with the EU.
The UK left the EU on January 31 of this year but remained
subject to the bloc's business regulations and within its customs
union during a transition period that ends on December 31.
Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan and Dominick Chilcott, the
British ambassador to Turkey, signed the the British-Turkish
agreement.
Pekcan hailed the deal as the most significant trade pact for
Turkey since the signing of a customs union agreement with the EU
in 1995.
"The free trade agreement is a new and special milestone in the
relationship between Turkey and United Kingdom," Pekcan said during
the ceremony. Britain is Turkey's second-largest export market.
A British government statement said the deal will secure
existing preferential tariffs for some 7,600 British businesses
that exported goods to Turkey in 2019, ensuring the continued
tariff-free flow of goods.
Both countries have said the deal will lead to a more
comprehensive agreement in the future."
