The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
The UK and Canada reached a temporary agreement to prevent tariffs on goods and services between the two countries starting on January 1, when the UK will no longer be covered by Canada’s trade deal with the
European Union.
In a statement by the Canadian foreign affairs ministry, the governments said they agreed to continue giving each other’s products preferential tariffs. The measure will stay in place until the British and Canadian parliaments can ratify the Trade Continuity Agreement put
forward in November.
“This action is important for many businesses and jobs in Canada, which benefit from the strong economic ties between our two countries,†Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s finance minister, said in emailed statement.
UK officials had privately expressed concern that businesses on both sides of the Atlantic would face tariffs on Jan. 1 without a stopgap deal in place after both parliaments failed to pass the legislation before breaking for the end-of-year holidays.
Two-way trade between the countries was worth C$29 billion ($22.5 billion) in 2019, and the UK is Canada’s fifth-largest trading partner; Canada is the UK’s 15th-largest export market.