UK and Japan settle on historic free trade agreement

Today (11 September 2020) the United Kingdom’s Department for International Trade announced that it has secured a free trade agreement with Japan. The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is the UK’s first major trade deal as an independent trading nation. Analysis by the UK government estimates that the trade deal will add an overall £1.5 billion to the UK economy and £800 million to workers’ wages. The trade deal is also seen as a step towards the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the future. For more details on the new trade deal, see the press release published by the UK’s Department for International Trade.