The UK and Turkey have signed a post-Brexit trade deal that will secure almost £19 billion worth of annual trade, the Government has announced.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) said the agreement – which comes after the end of the Brexit transition period – will also “lay the groundwork for a more ambitious UK Turkey trade relationship in the future”.

Under the deal, existing preferential tariffs will be maintained to ensure the free flow of goods between the two regions, meaning that the 7,600 UK businesses currently trading with Turkey are not disadvantaged.

According to the DIT, the UK Turkey trading partnership is worth around £18.6 billion annually, with UK businesses exporting £1 billion worth of machinery and £575 million worth of iron and steel products each year.

Likewise, the agreement ensures that UK countries pay no more for imports from Turkey. Had no deal been struck, the annual increase in estimated duties would have totalled around £102 million under World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms.

Commenting on the deal, Andy Burwell, Director for International Trade and Investment at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: “This agreement will maintain bilateral trade worth over £18 billion and will shore up key supply chains across many industries after a year of disruption.”

He added: “Turkey’s customs union with the EU made a trade deal with the UK complicated, but the pace at which the deal has been finalised following the negotiated EU deal shows the strength and depth of the relationship.

“Businesses and government must now look to growth, creating the trading relationships which will build a competitive, dynamic and progressive future economy.”

The announcement means that 62 post-Brexit trade deals have been agreed worldwide, securing approximately £885 billion of UK trade per year.

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