Senior government figures have said that the UK does not have the capacity to renegotiate dozens of trade deals that already exist between the EU and third countries. Instead, they are planning to draw up copycat deals to those that already exist, in an attempt to replicate an agreement struck by Theresa May in Japan last week. May and the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, signed a joint statement that committed their countries to working towards an economic partnership agreement (EPA) as an “immediate priority”. The statement said: “As the UK exits the EU we will work quickly to establish a new economic partnership between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of the EPA.” Advertisement May hopes such instant copycat deals – termed “cut-and-paste Brexit” by opponents – could be reached with other nations to help secure continuity and confidence.
UK 'does not have capacity to strike new trade deals after Brexit' | Politics | The Guardian
An unusual judge-led drive to persuade the UK government to resolve the Brexit crisis by joining the European Free Trade Association (Efta), the so-called Norway model, is to be promoted by the head of the Efta court himself in a series of speeches in London this month. The president of the Efta court, Carl Baudenbacher, has also held talks with Japanese government officials in Tokyo to discuss how Efta might help create the predictable Brexit that Japanese industry craves. His visit coincided with that of Theresa May, the UK prime minister, to Tokyo last week where she was pressed to set out how a Brexit Britain will in future relate legally to the single market. Both remain and some Eurosceptic MPs are arguing the UK could either join Efta as a permanent solution to its post-Brexit conundrum, or during the two to four-year transition now accepted by the cabinet and opposition.
Efta court president suggests UK should join Efta to end Brexit crisis | World news | The Guardian