Skip to main content
Collection

The UK’s trade agreements

Find out which trade agreements the UK has signed and which the UK is negotiating.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Business and Trade and Department for International Trade
Published:
2 March 2020
Last updated:
6 August 2026
Show all updates

  1. 'UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement' added under 'Trade agreements in force.' Number of trade agreements in force changed from 72 to 73 partners.

  2. 'UK-India Trade Deal' Collection page added under 'Trade agreements signed but not enforced.'

  3. Changes made to reflect the current trade agreements in force. Changes made to reflect trade agreements signed but not in force including India. Changes made to reflect trade agreements being negotiated (Turkey and Republic of Korea) and no longer being negotiated (Canada, Mexico and Israel). Documentation on trade agreement consultations removed.

  4. 'UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement' added to 'Trade agreements in force' section.

  5. The UK and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) added to the 'trade agreements in force' section.

  6. Number of trade agreements changed from '70+' to '39 agreements with 73 partners' in the 'Trade agreements in force' section of the page to reflect that some trade agreements encompass multiple countries.

  7. Madagascar removed from the 'signed but not in force' section of the page as agreement entered into force 1 August 2024.

  8. 'UK's approach to negotiating an enhanced free trade agreement with the Republic of Korea' added to the 'trade agreements we are negotiating' section of the page.

  9. 'Trade with Turkey: call for input' added to the collection page.

  10. 'Trade with Maldives: call for input' has been added to the consultations section of the collection page.

  11. The trade agreements between the UK and both New Zealand and Australia have been added to the in force section.

  12. Addition of link to UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement in 'Trade agreements we are negotiating' section.

  13. Full content redesign of page, and information updated throughout.

  14. Updated following a content review.

  15. Added a section for the trade agreement with the EU, with links to the agreement document (including summary explainer) and transition checker tool.

  16. Added documents on the UK's approach to negotiating free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand and on joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

  17. Added the UK's approach to negotiating a free trade agreement with Japan.

  18. First published.

Trade agreements set out the rules for buying and selling goods and services between 2 or more countries. They reduce restrictions on imports and exports, which can make trading easier and cheaper when they are used.

Trade agreements in force

As an independent trading nation, the UK has signed 40 trade agreements with 74 countries and territories plus the EU. These agreements are in force for 73 partners.

Recent trade agreements that have come into force include:

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement

The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement treaty covers the UK’s trade with the EU. As this agreement is managed by the Cabinet Office, the information about this agreement is held separately.

Key documentation following the recent UK/EU Summit includes:

See all the trade agreements the UK has which are in force:

Trade agreements signed but not in force

These are the trade agreements that businesses can use soon, but that are not yet in force.

Once an agreement is reached, it is signed and then scrutinised by Parliament. Following this, the agreement can then be ratified. Only when this is complete, and any implementing legislation has been passed, can it be entered into force, which means it can be used by businesses trading with that country.

The UK signed an agreement with Comoros (12 April 2022) under the economic partnership agreement with Eastern and Southern African countries (ESA), and will be covered by this agreement when they bring it into effect domestically.

Trade agreements we are negotiating

The UK is currently negotiating with several countries to draw up new agreements, or modernise existing agreements. Some of these agreements may have been publicly ‘agreed in principle’.

Contents

Related content