Britain hopes to copy and paste trade deals the EU has with other countries after Brexit, Theresa May reveals
BRITAIN is hoping to simply copy and paste all of the trade deals the EU has with other countries after Brexit, Theresa May revealed overnight.
As the PM urged the EU to crack on with their trade agreement with Japan, Mrs May admitted the UK is hoping to quickly replicate it on similar terms after quitting the bloc in 2019.
And her Government hope such action could be repeated with other countries like Canada, Switzerland and South Korea.
Starting her three day visit to the Pacific powerhouse, Mrs May told reporters the deals the EU currently have with other countries would be the basis for the UK's own deals after Brexit to avoid a logjam.
She said: "When we leave the EU we are looking at obviously a number of trade deals the EU has with other countries and we are looking at the possibility of those being able to be brought over into - certainly initially - trade deals with the the United Kingdom."
Mrs May said the trade transitional deals would give British business "certainty which is what business wants at the point we leave" - but the Government expects many could become permanent.
And The Sun understands Britain has privately made assurances with other nations that have deals already with the EU that any future deal will Britain will be as equally free and open.
Arriving in the Japanese city of Kyoto this morning, the PM then went on to take part in traditional welcoming tea ceremony with her Prime Minister Abe before a private dinner with her fellow world leader.
Japan has a 'niche' relationship with Britain and an 'inherent preference' to doing business with us after Brexit, aide to PM declares
By Natasha Clark
JAPAN has a "niche" relationship with the UK and its businesses have an "inherent desire" to continue working with us after Brexit, an aide to the Japanese Prime Minister has revealed.
Giving a huge boost to Theresa May's trade mission to Japan this week, Tomohiko Taniguchi praised the special ties between the two countries.
He said this morning that there has been a "huge amount of capital" invested in the UK, and leaders wanted that to continue after Brexit.
Speaking to the BBC's Today programme this morning as Mrs May touched down in Japan, he denied there was a sense of crisis over our EU exit.
He said: "Britain has always cut a special niche for Japan, there is an inherent preference among Japanese people, for Japanese industrialists, for doing business wherever possible in the United Kingdom.
"Naturally there is a strong desire for business leaders to continue to do business, if possible, in the UK."
And he added that business leaders were looking "down the road" rather than being hasty about decisions during a period of uncertainty.
The pair will then take a bullet train to Tokoyo ahead of two days of trade and defence talks.
The EU has dozens of trade deals with other countries - but the biggest are Switzerland and South Korea, which the Dept for International Trade say make up almost 80 per cent of imports and exports.
But as questions remain over Britain's capacity to negotiate multiple trade deals before our EU departure, it is clear that many of these copy and pasted trade deals could become permanent.
Mrs May also admitted that there was a need for the EU/Japan negotiations to speed up, sparking fears a deal will not ready to replicate by the time Britain leave the EU in 2019.
She said: "We have been very clear as one of the nations sitting around the table that has been pressing the EU to get on with this deal with Japan, we think this is an important deal for the EU."
"We will continue to press the EU to go forward on the Japan deal, which of course they have made some initial steps on, but there is still a long way to go."