New Zealand PM says looking for UK trade deal soon after Brexit

LONDON (Reuters): New Zealand will seek to agree a free trade deal with Britain as soon as possible after Brexit, Prime Minister Bill English said on Friday after talks with British leader Theresa May in London.

Britain is not able to sign trade deals with third countries while it remains a member of the European Union, but the government has said it is keen to start preparatory work so agreements can be reached quickly after it leaves.

“We are ready to negotiate a high-quality free trade agreement with the UK when it is in a position to do so,” English said at a news conference. “We already have a strong and diversified trading relationship with the UK and a free trade agreement will build on that.”

Britain is New Zealand’s fifth-largest bilateral trading partner, and New Zealand imported goods and services worth 1.1 billion pounds ($1.34 billion) from Britain in 2015.

British Prime Minister Theresa May (R) and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English give a press conference at 10 Downing Street in London - AFP

During a visit to Brussels earlier this week, English said the EU and New Zealand also aimed to launch free trade negotiations as soon as possible.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said talks with New Zealand could be wrapped up far more quickly than is normal, perhaps in just two to three years.

At a separate briefing with reporters later on Friday, English said he expected the New Zealand-EU deal to be completed before a New Zealand-Britain agreement. He also said New Zealand could not get in to too much detail with Britain yet.