Britain faces free trade headache after Brexit vote, says official

Prime Minister Theresa May used this month’s G20 summit in China to explore potential trade deals with Australia, India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea. But international trade experts have been quick to highlight Britain’s lack of experience in such negotiations. 

“Currently, legally speaking, the UK is part of the EU and therefore is not able to conclude free trade agreements,” said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of trade policy think tank, the European Centre for International Political Economy.  

“For me, it is more an experience problem because the UK has actually not negotiated” on such matters since 1973 when the country joined the European Union, Lee-Makiyama added.  At stake is Britain’s position as a major world economy along with its future economic and employment growth.  International trade to and from the country each year totals hundreds of billions of pounds, around half of which is with the European Union.