UK, Turkey to sign free trade deal on Tuesday

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday a free trade deal with London would be signed on Tuesday and completed after Thursday when the United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union.

The UK trade ministry said on Sunday the two nations will sign a deal that replicates the existing trading terms. It is the first deal to be announced since British Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a new trade agreement with the European Union last week.

The trading relationship between London and Ankara was worth 18.6 billion pounds ($25.25bn) in 2019, and the UK said it was the fifth-biggest trade deal its trade ministry had negotiated after agreements with Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Norway.

The UK has now signed trade agreements with 62 countries ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1, when it leaves the EU’s trading arrangements.

It clinched its narrow trade deal with the EU, its biggest trading partner, after extensive negotiations.