Following the UK’s departure from the EU on 31 January 2020, attention now turns to the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to come into force once the agreed transition period comes to an end. The Withdrawal Agreement signed by the UK and the EU on 17 October 2019 stated that the UK would continue to apply EU trade policy during the transition period, and that any trade agreements signed by the UK would not enter into force until the transition period had ended. The EU also confirmed that it would write to third countries with which it has trade agreements to request that the UK continue to benefit from such agreements during the transition period.

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