page_title: Commonwealth free trade
section_title: United Kingdom
hierarchical_section_title: Commonwealth free trade / Commonwealth free trade as policy / United Kingdom
caption_attribution_description: English: EU and free trade agreements countries &#160;&#160; EU member &#160;&#160; FTA &#160;&#160; Pending &#160;&#160; Negociating
context_page_description: Commonwealth free trade is the process or proposal of removing barriers of trade between member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. The preferential trade regime within the British Empire continued in some form amongst Commonwealth nations under the Imperial Preference system, until that system was dismantled after World War II due to changes in geopolitics and the pattern of global trade, and the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. The idea of promoting renewed inter-Commonwealth trade emerged in the late 20th century as a response to the evolution of the global economy. At one extreme, proposals have been raised for the creation of a multilateral free trade area comprising all member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.
  Today, most Commonwealth countries are pursuing regional integration projects, including the European Union, Caribbean Community, Southern African Customs Union, East African Community, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
context_section_description: The United Kingdom has been a member of the European Union and has therefore been unable to negotiate its own trade agreements for several decades.  However, after the United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union, it may again be able to negotiate its own trade deals.   While the UK has been in the EU it has actively pressured the EU to pursue trade agreements with other Commonwealth countries. In part, this has resulted in the EU initiating negotiations on free trade agreements with a number of Commonwealth countries. At present, Canada and India are both in the midst of negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union. Furthermore, a number of Commonwealth countries, including South Africa, Cameroon, Zambia, and the 12 commonwealth members of the Caribbean Community, already have free trade agreements with the EU. The EU, through the Lome and Cotonou Agreements, have extended some preferential trade access to developing Commonwealth countries.
  However, the idea of establishing a free trade area within the Commonwealth has garnered interests in the UK amongst politicians and parties that advocated leaving the European Union who cite the development of a Commonwealth free trade policy as an important step in reshaping the UK's trade policy. The UK Independence Party has included a call for a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement in its policy manifesto during the 2010 British general election. In addition, some members of Britain's Conservative Party, including MEP Daniel Hannan and MP Andrew Rosindell, have written extensively on the merits of expanding trade within the Commonwealth and the broader Anglosphere.
  On October 8, 2012, Tim Hewish and James Styles released their paper "Common Trade, Common Wealth, Common Growth" at the UK Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, England. The following day saw British Foreign Secretary William Hague comment upon how the Commonwealth, which had been 'neglected' by previous UK governments, presented "enormous opportunities" for the nation.
  Supporters of Britain's membership of the European Union have criticised the proposal for a Commonwealth free trade area as unlikely in practice to come to fruition.
caption: A map of the countries with which the EU is negotiating, or already has, free trade agreements. Amongst Commonwealth countries, the EU has free trade agreements with South Africa, Cameroon, Zambia, and the 12 commonwealth members of the Caribbean Community.
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