TRADE: UK and South Korea to sign continuity agreement

TRADE: UK and South Korea to sign continuity agreement
By: Newsdesk Team
City of London Newsroom

The UK and South Korea have agreed to sign a "continuity" trade agreement today [22/08/19] enabling businesses to continue trading freely after Brexit after the two countries agreed to a preliminary deal in June, marking the first post-Brexit deal secured in Asia.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss will sign off the agreement with her South Korean counterpart Yoo Myung-hee in London.

In a statement, Ms Truss said "My priority is to make sure that British businesses are fully prepared for Brexit and ready to trade on Thursday 31 October."

She went on to say that the agreement would allow businesses to "keep trading as they do today, and they will be able to take advantage of the opportunities that Brexit offers." while Ms Yoo said the agreement would "remove much Brexit uncertainty" from the economic partnership between the two countries.

While the agreement in itself is not the most significant to the UK, [trade between the UK and South Korea totalled £14.6bn ($17.7bn) in 2018] it is a step in the right direction for the UK as it looms
toward a "No Deal" Brexit.

South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy is a global leader in electronics, steel and the auto industry and its exports to the UK last year reached £5.2bn while it imports crude oil, cars and whisky.

To date, the UK has now signed 13 trade continuity agreements with 38 countries, including Norway, Chile and Israel.