THE United Kingdom and Japan start trade talks yesterday, aiming to replace the free-trade agreement that Britain currently enjoys with the country through the European Union (EU).

The British Government, whose trade with the world’s third-largest economy was worth over 31 billion pounds (US$39 billion) last year, said it intends to build on the existing EU-Japan deal, signed in 2018, which the United Kingdom will no longer benefit from when it completes its exit from the bloc at the end of 2020.

Securing trade deals is a high priority for the United Kingdom as it re-shapes its economic relations with the world post-Brexit. Without a new accord with Japan by Jan. 1, 2021, the two countries will default to trading on World Trade Organization terms, meaning tariffs and new obstacles to commerce.

Japan was Britain’s fourth-biggest non-EU trading partner in 2019, with trade between the two countries totalling 31.4 billion pounds, according to government statistics.

Britain hopes ultimately to join the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and sees trade talks with Japan as a step towards that end.(SD-Agencies)