Jeremy Miles MS, Counsel General and Minister for European Transition
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
I welcome the announcement made on 21 November by the UK Government that an in principle agreement has been reached on a UK-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement, if ratified and brought into force by the end of the transition period, will ensure current trading arrangements continue with minimal changes for our businesses already trading with Canada under the terms of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). It will ensure that we avoid a situation where the UK and Canada revert to trading on WTO terms. This situation would undoubtedly have damaged our trading relationship with a country that consistently features in the top 20 of Wales’ export destinations.