COUNTRIES are “queuing up” round the block to do a trade deal with Brexit Britain, the Trade Supremo Anne-Marie Trevelyan has declared.
Her upbeat assessment comes as the UK kickstarts formal trade talks with Canada on Thursday.
The Commonwealth giant is just one of EIGHT countries and trading blocs she wants to ink an accord with over the next couple of years.
The buoyant minister said Israel, India Mexico, Greenland and the US are all also eager to do a deal.
While heavyweight trading blocs in the Pacific and the Gulf are also super keen.
Speaking exclusively to Trending In The News on a trade trip to the US and Canada, Mrs Trevelyan said: “People are queuing up wanting to do trade deals with it, which I find very encouraging.
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“We do ourselves down, the rest of the world thinks the UK is amazing and they want to work with a trusted partner.”
She jets from Baltimore to Ottawa on Wednesday and launches formal trade negotiations with Canada on Thursday.
Britain has a rollover deal with the country from its days in the EU, but Mrs Trevelyan has set her sights on a deal she dubs Canada 2.0.
She wants to massively beef up cooperation and unlock many billions more in trade by tearing up red tape so British firms can get a slice of lucrative contracts with the Canadian government.
While a trade deal will help Brits stung by soaring prices in the supermarkets.
Slashing tariffs and red tape will mean cheaper beef burgers, maple syrup and Canadian whisky in British shops.
Mrs Trevelyan said: “There will be some really chunky stuff in there to discuss, which will be good and they’re really up for it.
“That’s why they’re top of my pile because they’ve really leaned in and said we want to move to the next phase. OK you’re on.”
Mrs Trevelyan, whose ancestors moved from the Isle of Mull in Scotland to Canada where her father was born, is eager to be the Cabinet minister who gets the deal over the line.
She will wear a suit she has made from her family’s ancient hunting tartan on the trip.
“It’ll just be lovely to be the person who moves us into that next stage”, she said.
Meanwhile, Britain aims to start formal trade talks with Israel this summer with the aim of getting a deal over the line by Christmas / Hanukkah time.
While we are in the final stages of joining the CPTPP – the Pacific trading bloc giant covering Canada, Australia and much of Asia and South America.
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It handles trade worth a whopping £8.4 trillion.
Ministers are confident they will get signed up by the end of the year – turbocharging trade with vast swathes of the globe.
