UK-EU RELATIONSHIP: THE COMPLEXITY OF THE TASK AHEAD

The shortest free trade agreement negotiations the EU has ever held were with South Korea and took two and a half years, with another eighteen months for approval and ratification. Most free trade agreements take six to eight years to negotiate. The FTA negotiations with Canada, often cited as a model for the UK, began in 2009 and were concluded in 2017. It will take another seven years for all aspects of the agreement to take effect.