The free trade deal Britain must sign up to after Brexit

Now the UK is leaving the EU, Boris Johnson’s government can start planning a serious trade strategy for life after Brexit. So far the focus has been on a UK/US free trade agreement. But before that, the initial challenge for Britain will be to establish a rational set of priorities.

First, the government must ask what resources is it prepared to commit to trade policy? Second, it needs to establish what trade agreements would be most beneficial to the UK economy. After all, there’s no point in giving priority to a laborious trade negotiation with, say, Burkina Faso, if the benefits of that agreement would be very limited.

And third, how difficult would it be to conclude a free trade agreement with those priority countries? Are those countries ready to open up their markets on a reciprocal basis with the UK? Talk of a free trade agreement with India may meet several criteria but it would be difficult to negotiate.