Britain hails ‘golden age’ in South Korea relations after essential commerce deal struck | EUROtoday

A brand new free commerce settlement between the UK and South Korea has efficiently averted impending tariff will increase on British exports, securing very important commerce hyperlinks.

This essential pact is about to safeguard £2 billion value of UK exports, which had been in any other case dealing with increased tariffs from January as a brief association with Seoul was nearing its expiry.

The deal can be projected to spice up providers exports by £400 million.

UK officers have hailed the settlement because the daybreak of “a new golden age of UK-South Korea relations”.

Britain had beforehand benefited from the European Union’s commerce cope with South Korea, subsequently securing a continuity settlement shortly earlier than its departure from the bloc in 2020.

But that deal was set to run out on January 1, having already been prolonged for 2 years past its unique expiration date.

Sir Keir Starmer described Monday’s settlement as “a huge win for British businesses and working people” alongside commerce offers with the EU, India and the US.

Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant mentioned: “Korean culture has taken off in the UK, with millions of Brits already binge watching great Korean TV like Squid Game and streaming K-pop artists like Blackpink – but this trade deal will take our relationship to the next level, with hundreds of millions of pounds and vast opportunities unlocked for businesses.”

Businesses together with Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and Guinness-owner Diageo praised the deal.

Diageo’s interim chief govt Nik Jhangiani mentioned it will “help satisfy the growing demand from South Korean consumers” for Guinness, which is canned in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Bentley’s chairman Frank-Steffen Walliser mentioned the deal would shield its entry to “a key market” for luxurious automobiles.