Among the options under consideration for the United Kingdom's trade relations following Brexit, a working group of the British Department for International Trade is reportedly looking at joining a transatlantic trade alliance that is larger than the EU, should London fail to secure a post-Brexit agreement with the EU in the framework of plans being considered by Prime Minister Theresa May, the British daily newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday 10 October.
The most ambitious option being looked into would be for the UK to join the North American free-trade agreement, NAFTA, which is made up of the United States, Canada and Mexico and is currently being renegotiated following the arrival in the White House of American President Donald Trump.
Joining NAFTA would allow the UK to stimulate its trade with three of the largest economic powers in the world, with a cumulative GDP of £17,200 billion, compared to £15,700 billion in the EU. Together, the NAFTA countries and the UK would account for more than 30% of the global economy, the Telegraph stresses.
It would also give British importers and exporters better access to the United States, Canada and Mexico, without the UK having to go through painstaking negotiations to conclude a new free-trade agreement with each of them, and the fact that with the UK, three G7 countries would be part of the same trading bloc would give them huge political influence, the British daily newspaper reports.
The idea of the UK joining existing trading partnerships following Brexit was discussed earlier in the year with Australian and Canadian officials, who urged London to look into the option, the Telegraph adds, but warns that the move would not be without controversy, as it could force London to accept measures that would allow foreign investors to take its government to court if their investments were threatened by a change in domestic policy. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)