# Free trade agreements of the United Kingdom

Following its withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom began negotiations on several free trade agreements to remove or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, both to establish new agreements and to replace previous EU trade agreements. Withdrawal ended 47 years of membership during which all its trading agreements were negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the bloc. The UK did not actually withdraw from the European Single Market and the European Union Customs Union (and its trade agreements) until 31 December 2020.
These treaties are divided into two types of free trade agreements: continuity agreements and 'new' agreements. Continuity agreements, also named rollover agreements, make use of a mutatis mutandis concept in order to quickly replicate the existing EU agreements, only having to call out those minor areas of differentiation. Most continuity treaties were provisionally applied, or through a "bridging mechanism", thus continuity was achieved. Trade agreements negotiated after Brexit are termed 'new', or enhanced agreements: these agreements have been negotiated from scratch or have been renegotiated to expand the deal since Brexit.
As of December 2024, the United Kingdom has 39 active free trade agreements with nations and trade blocs, covering 102 countries and territories. Five of these are 'new' trade agreements, such as with Australia and New Zealand. The UK is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The remaining 33 are continuity agreements. Furthermore, the UK has a customs union with its three Crown Dependencies. The UK has further arrangements covering free trade with its 14 British Overseas Territories.
The United Kingdom has only suspended negotiations for a trade deal on one occasion; it suspended negotiations for a post-Brexit Canada Free Trade Agreement on 25 January 2024.

## Competence and ratification

According to UK law the United Kingdom Parliament has the power to pass law in all policy areas.
The UK's negotiating team will consult with its Strategic Trade Advisory Group throughout the negotiations.

### Ratification

The responsibility for concluding treaties involving the UK lies with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. This remains the case even when the negotiation of the treaty is led by another government department.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office's legal advisers and Treaty Section:
* must be given the opportunity to comment on the drafts of all treaties under negotiation
* will advise on the form and substance of the treaty, though not substance which is technical and of which the other government department is the expert
* will advise on related matters such as the production of Full Powers and Instruments of Ratification
* will produce original signature copies of treaties and advise on the treaty signing ceremony
* will arrange for the treaty to be published and laid before Parliament
* is responsible for the registration of these treaties with the United Nations, allowing their subsequent publication in the United Nations Treaty Series
* will transfer of the treaties to the National Archives for preservation
Unless expressly authorised to do so by the United Kingdom government, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories do not have the authority to contract treaties in their own right. The UK must extend the territorial scope of its ratification of treaties to include them. This may be done either at the time of ratification, or at some later date.

## Active agreements

The following free trade agreements are currently in effect. Signature and entry into force dates are as listed by the World Trade Organization.

### Independent Agreements

The following bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements are currently active independently from a trade bloc:
| Nation(s) | No. of nations represented | Agreement | Signed | Effective | Coverage | Type | Mechanism | Trade value (2023) |
| Albania | 1 | Albania–UK Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement | 5 February 2021 | 3 May 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £362m |
| Andean Countries Colombia Ecuador Peru | 3 | Andean Countries–UK Trade Agreement | 15 May 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £4,051m |
| Australia | 1 | Australia–UK Free Trade Agreement | 16 December 2021 | 31 May 2023 | Goods & Services | New | Full ratification | £20,036m |
| Cameroon | 1 | Cameroon–UK Economic Partnership Agreement | 28 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,029m |
| Canada | 1 | Canada–UK Trade Continuity Agreement | 22 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £26,287m |
| CARIFORUM Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guyana Jamaica Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago | 14 | CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement | 22 March 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Provisional application | £5,537m |
| Central America Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Panama | 6 | Central America–UK Association Agreement | 18 July 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £2,478m |
| Chile | 1 | Chile–UK Association Agreement | 30 January 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,804m |
| Eastern and Southern Africa Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Zimbabwe | 4 | Eastern and Southern Africa–UK Economic Partnership Agreement | 31 January 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £2,027m |
| Egypt | 1 | Egypt–UK Association Agreement | 5 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £4,659m |
| European Union 27 members  Akrotiri and Dhekelia  Andorra  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Monaco  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  San Marino  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden | 31 | EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement | 30 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | New | Full ratification | £805,000m |
| Faroe Islands | 1 | Faroe Islands–UK Free Trade Agreement | 31 January 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,108m |
| Georgia | 1 | Georgia–UK Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement | 21 October 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £500m |
| Ghana | 1 | Ghana–UK Interim Trade Partnership Agreement | 2 March 2021 | 5 March 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Provisional application | £1,188m |
| Iceland Liechtenstein Norway | 3 | Free Trade Agreement between Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and the UK | 8 July 2021 | 1 December 2021 | Goods & Services | New | Provisional application | £41,537m |
| Israel | 1 | Israel–UK Trade and Partnership Agreement | 18 February 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £6,137m |
| Ivory Coast | 1 | Ivory Coast–UK Stepping Stone Economic Partnership Agreement | 15 October 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £841m |
| Japan | 1 | Japan–UK Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement | 23 October 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | New | Full ratification | £27,575m |
| Jordan | 1 | Jordan–UK Association Agreement | 5 November 2019 | 1 May 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,313m |
| Kenya | 1 | Kenya–UK Economic Partnership Agreement | 8 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,427m |
| Kosovo | 1 | Kosovo–UK Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement | 3 December 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £12m |
| Lebanon | 1 | Lebanon–UK Association Agreement | 19 September 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,131m |
| Liechtenstein Switzerland | 2 | Switzerland–Liechtenstein–UK Trade Agreement | 11 February 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £50,817m |
| Mexico | 1 | Mexico–UK Trade Continuity Agreement | 15 December 2020 | 1 June 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £6,599m |
| Moldova | 1 | Moldova–UK Strategic Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement | 24 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,478m |
| Morocco | 1 | Morocco–UK Association Agreement | 26 October 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Provisional application | £3,524m |
| New Zealand | 1 | New Zealand–UK Free Trade Agreement | 28 February 2022 | 31 May 2023 | Goods & Services | New | Full ratification | £3,100m |
| North Macedonia | 1 | North Macedonia–UK Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement | 3 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Provisional application | £2,507m |
| Pacific States Fiji Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands | 4 | Pacific States–UK Economic Partnership Agreement | 14 March 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Provisional application | £390m |
| Palestinian Authority | 1 | Palestinian Authority–UK Political, Trade and Partnership Agreement | 18 February 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £38m |
| Serbia | 1 | Serbia–UK Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement | 16 April 2021 | 20 May 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,018m |
| Singapore | 1 | Singapore–UK Free Trade Agreement | 10 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £22,327m |
| South Korea | 1 | South Korea–UK Trade Agreement | 22 August 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £16,331m |
| Southern Africa Customs Union and Mozambique Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Mozambique Namibia South Africa | 6 | SACUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement | 9 October 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £11,420m |
| Tunisia | 1 | Tunisia–UK Association Agreement | 4 October 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Full ratification | £693m |
| Turkey | 1 | Turkey–UK Trade Agreement | 29 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | Provisional application | £25,817m |
| Ukraine | 1 | Ukraine–UK Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement | 8 October 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Full ratification | £1,523m |
| Vietnam | 1 | UK–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement | 29 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | Provisional application | £5,859m |

### Trade bloc membership

The United Kingdom is currently a member of one trade bloc, which covers multilateral free trade with fellow members.
| Trade bloc | No. of nations represented | Signed | Effective | Coverage | Trade value | Ref. |
| Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Australia Brunei Canada Chile Japan Malaysia Mexico New Zealand Peru Singapore Vietnam | 11 | 16 July 2023 | 15 December 2024 | Goods & Services | £120,851m | |

### Dependencies

The following agreements govern the United Kingdom's free trade with British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
| Nation(s) | No. of nations represented | Signed | Effective | Coverage | Treaty | Trade value (2023) | Comment |
| Akrotiri and Dhekelia | 31 | 30 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | New | £823,100m | Trade with the UK is governed within the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, due to Akrotiri and Dhekelia remaining a part of the European Union customs union. |
| Crown Dependencies Customs Union Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey | 3 | 26 November 2018 | 9 December 2020 | Goods & Services | New | £13,153m | The United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies established a customs union which created a free trade area between the territories, and creates a common external tariff with other countries. |
| Gibraltar | 1 | 24 October 2019 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Continuity | £7,236m | Trade with Gibraltar is governed under the 'Financial Services and Markets Act 2000', Gibraltar and the UK amended this act in order to continue the agreement they had in the European Economic Area. |
| Overseas Territories Anguilla Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Turks and Caicos Islands | 12 | 9 November 2020 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | Continuity | £10,591m | This arrangement acts as a continuity free trade agreement between 12 Overseas Territories and the UK. |

## Negotiations

The United Kingdom is currently pursuing free trade agreements with new countries using three methods. The first of which is negotiating completely new trade agreements with a country. The second is through a country applying and acceding to a trade bloc of which the United Kingdom is currently a member of. The third way is through encouraging countries to join existing plurilateral trade agreements.

### Ongoing negotiations

The United Kingdom is currently negotiating free trade agreements with the following countries and trade blocs:
| Nation (s) | No of nations represented | Coverage | Type | Trade value (2023) | Status | Progress |
| Algeria | 1 | Goods | Continuity | £2,303m | Negotiations stagnated | A continuity trade agreement has been offered to Algeria; neither party has signed the agreement. |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | Goods & Services | Continuity | £255m | Negotiations stagnated | A continuity trade agreement has been offered to Bosnia and Herzegovina; neither party has signed the agreement. |
| Canada | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £26,287m | Negotiations suspended | Negotiations suspended on 25 January 2024 by the United Kingdom; the two sides have completed eight rounds of talks since 2022. |
| Greenland | 1 | Goods | New | £12m | Negotiations stagnated | Negotiations opened on 27 January 2022. |
| Gulf Cooperation Council Bahrain Kuwait Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia United Arab Emirates | 6 | Goods & Services | New | £57,433m | Negotiations ongoing | Sixth round of negotiations concluded on 9 February 2024. |
| India | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £38,978m | Negotiations ongoing | Fifteenth round of negotiations opened on 24 February 2025. |
| Israel | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £6,137m | Negotiations ongoing | Fifth round of negotiations concluded on 17 April 2024. |
| Maldives | 1 | Goods | New | £492m | Discussions ongoing | Trade consultation closed on 2 August 2023. |
| Mexico | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £6,599m | Negotiations ongoing | Third round of negotiations concluded on 19 May 2023. |
| Montenegro | 1 | Goods & Services | Continuity | £156m | Negotiations stagnated | A continuity trade agreement has been offered to Montenegro; neither party has signed the agreement. |
| South Korea | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £18,349m | Negotiations ongoing | Second round of negotiations concluded on 22 March 2024. |
| Switzerland | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £50,817m | Negotiations ongoing | Fifth round of negotiations concluded on 18 October 2024. |
| Thailand | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £6,026m | Discussions ongoing | Enhanced Trade Partnership signed on 18 September 2024; exploratory FTA talks ongoing. |
| Turkey | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £25,817m | Negotiations ongoing | Negotiations opened on 14 March 2024. |
| United States | 1 | Goods & Services | New | £310,840m | Negotiations stagnated | Fifth round of negotiations concluded on 30 October 2020. |

### Trade bloc applicants

The following countries have applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade bloc of which the United Kingdom is a member of.
| Country | Application | Negotiations opened | Status | Bilateral trade value (2023) | Existing FTA |
| China | 16 September 2021 | pending | Formal application submitted | £90,243 | none |
| Costa Rica | 11 August 2022 | 29 November 2024 | Invitation to join received | £1,143 | Central America–UK Association Agreement |
| Ecuador | 29 December 2021 | pending | Formal application submitted | £475 | Andean Countries–UK Trade Agreement |
| Indonesia | 19 September 2024 | pending | Formal application submitted | £2,999 | none |
| Taiwan | 22 September 2021 | pending | Formal application submitted under the name of "The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (TPKM)." | £7,433 | none |
| Ukraine | 5 May 2023 | pending | Formal application submitted | £1,523m | Ukraine–UK Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement |
| Uruguay | 1 December 2022 | pending | Formal application submitted | £409 | none |

### Potential enlargement

The following countries can accede to an existing plurilateral Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom.
| Nation(s) | Trade agreement being joined | Status |
| Haiti | CARIFORUM | Haiti will be covered by the CARIFORUM–UK Economic Partnership Agreement if they sign it and bring it into effect. |
| Comoros Zambia | Eastern and Southern Africa | Out of the remaining COMESA members, Comoros, and Zambia have agreements in place allowing them to join the ESA–UK Economic Partnership Agreement: Comoros signed the agreement on 12 April 2022 and will be covered by the EPA when they bring it into effect. Zambia will be covered by the EPA if they sign it and bring it into effect. |
| East African Community Burundi DR Congo Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Tanzania Uganda | Kenya | Article 143 of the UK–Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement enables any other East African Community member to make an accession request to the UK–Kenya EPA Council. |
| Cook Islands Kiribati Marshall Islands Micronesia Nauru Niue Palau Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu | Pacific States | The Pacific States–UK Economic Partnership Agreement states that 10 other Pacific nations are currently eligible to apply for accession. Tonga has shown interest in acceding to the EPA. |

## Obsolete agreements

The following free trade agreements were previously active, however they have since been superseded or terminated. Signature, entry into force and obsolete dates are as listed by the World Trade Organization.

### Former Independent Agreements

The following bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements were previously active independently from a trade bloc:
| Nation(s) | No of nations represented | Agreement | Signed | Effective | Obsolete | Coverage | Information | Superseded by |
| Ireland | 1 | Ireland–United Kingdom Free Trade Area | 19 December 1965 | 1 July 1966 | 1 January 1973 | Goods | The Free Trade Area was agreed to after both nations' bids to join the European Economic Community were rejected. This agreement was superseded upon both parties' accession to the EEC. | European Economic Community |
| Colombia | 1 | Colombia–UK Trade Continuity Agreement | 18 October 2019 | 1 January 2021 | 28 June 2022 | Goods & Services | The Trade Continuity Agreement was a provisionally applied FTA. It existed following Brexit but prior to Colombia's ratification of the Andean Countries–UK Trade Agreement, which went on to supersede this agreement. | Andean Countries–UK Trade Agreement |
| Iceland Norway | 2 | Iceland–Norway–UK Trade Agreement | 8 December 2020 | 1 January 2021 | 1 September 2022 | Goods | The Iceland–Norway–UK Trade Agreement was a continuity trade agreement that plurilaterally covered both Iceland–UK trade as well as Norway–UK trade. The agreement was superseded by a new plurilateral FTA which expanded the coverage to include services, additionally covering Liechtenstein–UK trade. | Free Trade Agreement between Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and the UK |

### Former trade bloc memberships

The United Kingdom was previously a member of the following trade blocs, which covered multilateral free trade with fellow members.
| Nation(s) | No. of nations represented | Signed | Effective | Obsolete | Coverage | Note | Superseded by |
| European Free Trade Association Austria Denmark Iceland Norway Portugal Sweden Switzerland | 7 | 4 January 1960 | 3 May 1960 | 31 December 1972 | Goods & Services | The UK was a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, but left the organisation to join the European Economic Community, along with Denmark. | European Economic Community |
| European Economic Community Belgium Denmark France Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal Spain West Germany/Germany | 11 | 22 January 1972 | 1 January 1973 | 1 November 1993 | Goods & Services | The UK joined the European Economic Community, along with Denmark and Ireland. The EEC was incorporated into the European Union. | European Union |
| European Union 27 members  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czechia  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden | 27 | 7 February 1992 | 1 November 1993 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | Following the result of the Brexit referendum, the UK invoked Article 50 in March 2017. The UK officially withdrew from the EU on the 1 January 2021. | Trade and Cooperation Agreement |

### EU agreements

The following agreements are European Union free trade agreements, of which the United Kingdom was a party until Brexit; however continuity agreements were not reached to replace them.
| Nation (s) | No of nations represented | Signed | Effective | Obsolete | Coverage | Note |
| Algeria | 1 | 22 April 2002 | 1 September 2005 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | The UK has no free trade agreement with Algeria. |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 | 16 June 2008 | 1 June 2015 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | The UK has no free trade agreement with Bosnia and Herzegovina. |
| EU Overseas Countries and Territories Aruba Bonaire Curaçao French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands Greenland New Caledonia Saba Saint Barthélemy Saint Pierre and Miquelon Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Wallis and Futuna | 13 | 27 November 2001 | 2 December 2001 | 1 January 2021 | Goods | The UK has no free trade agreement with any of the EU Overseas Countries and Territories. Greenland and the UK have opened negotiations for a free trade agreement. |
| Montenegro | 1 | 15 October 2007 | 1 May 2010 | 1 January 2021 | Goods & Services | The UK has no free trade agreement with Montenegro. |

## Largest trading partners

Export and import markets for goods and services in 2023, seasonally adjusted Figures in £billions sterling :
| Exports | Exports | Exports | Exports | Imports | Imports | Imports | Imports |
| Rank | Trade Partner | £billions | % of Total | Rank | Trade Partner | £billions | % of Total |
| | European Union | 356.3 | 41.4% | | European Union | 450.9 | 51.5% |
| 1. | United States | 186.7 | 21.7% | 1. | United States | 115.4 | 13.2% |
| 2. | Germany (EU member) | 63.0 | 7.3% | 2. | Germany (EU member) | 87.6 | 10.0% |
| 3. | Ireland (EU member) | 57.7 | 6.7% | 3. | Netherlands (EU member) | 64.3 | 7.3% |
| 4. | Netherlands (EU member) | 52.5 | 6.1% | 4. | France (EU member) | 60.2 | 6.9% |
| 5. | France (EU member) | 44.6 | 5.2% | 5. | China | 59.4 | 6.8% |
| 6. | China | 33.3 | 3.9% | 6. | Spain (EU member) | 41.2 | 4.7% |
| 7. | Switzerland (EFTA) | 30.2 | 3.5% | 7. | Belgium (EU member) | 31.7 | 3.6% |
| 8. | Italy (EU member) | 31.6 | 3.6% | 8. | Italy (EU member) | 31.6 | 3.6% |
| 9. | Spain (EU member) | 19.7 | 2.3% | 9. | Ireland (EU member) | 30.3 | 3.5% |
| 10. | Italy (EU member) | 18.9 | 2.2% | 10. | Norway (EFTA) | 30.2 | 3.4% |
| | EU | 356.3 | 41.4% | | EU | 450.9 | 51.5% |
| | Non EU | 505.0 | 58.6% | | Non EU | 425.4 | 48.5% |
| | World | 861.2 | 100% | | World | 876.3 | 100% |
Historically, WTO imports and exports are based on the rule of origin, while EU imports/exports are based on single market statistics.
The figures above are for 2023