Britain to cut trade tariffs with New Zealand amid Brexit celebrations

Tariffs as high as 10 percent will be removed on a huge range of UK goods, from clothing and footwear to buses, ships, bulldozers and excavators. The agreement came after 16 months of intense negotiations and has been praised by business groups. But amid the celebrations, a group of largely former Remainer MPs has said the deal is considerably less than trade with the EU and ministers should focus their time on mending relations with Brussels. Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said: I welcome this announcement, but geographically, New Zealand is one of the most distant countries from us.

Increasing trade with distant nations, with all the CO2 emissions involved in transporting goods raises profound questions ahead of COP 26. That s why the Government must work to improve their flawed deal with the EU to support struggling British businesses and do more to maintain our climate commitments. All MPs on the Commission bar one supported Remain in the 2016 referendum. The Commission was set up by Mr Benn in April to scrutinise the UK's trade deals. Its secretariat is provided by the group Best for Britain which was launched in 2017 with the aim of stopping Brexit.

Unearthed clip shows plans to 'use Ireland' INSIGHT Brexit news: Britons ridicule trade war EU would collapse REACTION Rishi Sunak to slash tax to keep Brexit Britain on top UPDATE This is a fantastic week for Global Britain. On Tuesday, we raised almost 10 billion in investment for the industries of the future and this new deal will help drive green growth here and on the other side of the world in New Zealand. Ms Ardern added: The United Kingdom and New Zealand are close friends and great partners.