After the Brexit in early 2020, the U.K finally revealed a major deal with... Japan? (Image via iStock)

Japan becomes the first partner of U.K post-Brexit

After getting out of the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (U.K) - for the first time - has announced a ground-breaking deal with Japan on Friday. The Department for International Trade stated that the U.K - Japan agreement, UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, will be worth $19.5 billion. The accord was agreed upon by UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Japan Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, which Truss saw as an important step toward the "Trans-Pacific Partnership". Motegi stated that the agreement, starting January 2021, will cover a 99% tariff-free trade between the U.K and Japan in various sectors.

The deal is similar to the EU - Japan deal, coming into effect in 2019. However, since the Brexit in January 2020, the EU - Japan deal will be invalid for the U.K starting 31 December. Effective in February 2020, Great Britain finally left the EU after nearly four years of the referendum that saw an end to the five years of EU - U. K integration. Currently, the U.K is in a "standstill period" with Belgium while trying to figure out their relationship until January 2021.

However, the condition worsened after the EU threatened legal action against the U.K when it tries to break the binding treaty for Brexit. The accord between the U.K and Japan was the British's signal that another agreement could be made easily. The Prime Minister of the U.K, Boris Johnson, tweeted that the U.K - Japan agreement means that the trade policy has come back to normal and the U.K is able to thrive outside the EU.

Source: https://bit.ly/2FqZRnQ