LONDON: The United Kingdom expects it will be easier to sign trade deals with international partners after Britain exits the EU, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said here the other day.
The foreign secretary admitted that United Kingdom’s economy was obviously smaller than that of the soon to be 27-nation European Union.
“There will definitely be UK trade partners around the world who are seeking free trade agreements with the EU, but for various reasons may find that a tortuous and long-winded process, and may find it… easier, if less fruitful in the long run, to make a bilateral agreement with the UK,” Hammond predicted.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd R) stands with British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi before talks at Schloss Herrenhausen in Hanover, Germany April 25, 2016
“But because, in making a bilateral agreement, we will only have to consider the interests of our economy and not the interests of 27 other economies, it may be [the case] that we can reach those kind of agreements more quickly,” he explained.
The Remain campaign warned the British public prior to the EU membership referendum that by voting to leave they would close the country’s access to bloc’s tariff-free single market. The Leave camp argued that other countries would be lining up to start trade talks with Britain.
