UK Trade Minister Liz Truss told the Parliament today, “we’re determined to reach a deal with Canada before the end of the year — it will help our trade from cars to beef to fish to whiskey.” “I do hope that in the future, as Canada is a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership which has advanced chapters in areas like data and digital, that we will be able to go much further and build a much deeper relationship with Canada,” she added. The UK Department for International Trade also said negotiations are “at an advanced stage and progressing well.”
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said a trade deal could be reached by January 1. “I know that rolling over and demonstrating free trade deals is important for the U.K. government. Canada is a really easy one. We’re there for it. We’d like to do it, so I am very hopeful that it’s going to get done but that’s up to the U.K. government,” Trudeau said.