As the Burnham government picks up the mantle on trade deal negotiations, what’s the status of previously promising trade talks?
Global Trade Today reviews the status of several negotiations that had been open in recent years.
Canada
Last week’s UK visit by Canadian prime minister Mark Carney led to pledges from both Carney and UK prime minister Andy Burnham to develop closer trade and defence ties. This came as part of a Canadian drive to enhance relations with Europe amid fraying ties with the US.
However, there were no updates on reopening bilateral trade negotiations, which broke down in 2024 amid disagreements over food standards.
Although, a government update to a list of trade deal negotiations made in August 2025 removed Canada from the list of ongoing negotiations, there have been several developments since then.
Former trade minister Chris Bryant told Parliament in October 2025 that the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group would meet in the autumn of that year to address issues like market access.
Another meeting of the working group took place between Bryant and his Canadian counterpart Maninder Sidhu in February 2026, in which they agreed to “continue regular discussions in areas of shared priority, including defence and economic security, digital trade and critical minerals”.
More recently, Canada became the final nation to approve UK membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with the final agreement signed in July 2026.
Most recently full UK CPTPP membership has led to the removal of some digital trade restrictions, making it easier for businesses to trade with Canada.
Mexico
Another nation where CPTPP membership has taken the lead on trade relations is Mexico.
Mexico ratified the UK’s membership of CPTPP at the start of the year, with Bryant issuing a statement in June highlighting the benefits for UK traders.
Speaking in parliament, he said “British farmers and food and drink manufacturers will benefit from improved opportunities to trade with Mexico”, highlighting tariff-free access for chocolate, cheese and pork exporters, as well as reduced tariffs on imports of Mexican honey, chocolate, asparagus, sweetcorn and orange juice – a benefit to UK consumers.
The same CPTPP digital trade benefits that now apply to Canada are also applicable to Mexico, going beyond the terms of provisions under the existing bilateral trade deal, Bryant noted.
On bilateral trade deals there’s been little movement. The same update that removed Canada from the list of active negotiations also removed Mexico.
However, as reported previously by Global Trade Today, Mexican trade minister Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez Romano suggested that negotiations could resume in the second half of this year. He told reporters in April that he wanted a UK-Mexico trade deal that emphasised pharmaceuticals, financial services and high-end manufacturing.
Trade talks had been suspended for two years prior to this announcement, after positive talks with then-Department for Business and Trade permanent secretary Amanda Brooks.
Both Mexico and Canada have been proactive in expanding their trade bases beyond the US, in the wake of president Trump’s tariff war and uncertainty over the future of the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact.
As it stands, bilateral UK-Mexico trade has been operating under a roll-over deal agreed to during the Brexit process.
Türkiye
Türkiye and the UK are currently negotiating a more comprehensive trade deal, with talks having begun in March 2024.
The UK is working towards a new and “enhanced” deal that would replace the rollover agreement introduced after the UK left the EU.
Five rounds of talks have been held so far, with a reported 11 chapters agreed to. The last round took place in June 2026, only shortly before the fall of Starmer, with Bryant meeting his Turkish counterpart Mustafa Tuzcu.
In a government statement following round five’s completion, the UK government said a number of topics had been discussed, including “digital trade, telecommunications, investment, legal services, goods market access, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, alongside cross-cutting issues such as intellectual property, procurement, and sustainability”.
This update said that a sixth round is set for some time in the autumn, with an update promised to parliament.
Total bilateral trade between the UK and Türkiye totalled £28.4bn by the end of 2025, a 4.3% increase on the previous year.
Israel
One deal that has fallen off the agenda is the UK-Israel trade deal.
Launched in 2022, the intention had been to start negotiations over an agreement covering digital and services trade, with Israel being a large services exporter. The old agreement was reached in 1995, prior to the invention of smartphones.
Then international trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan wanted to boost UK service trade by at least £78m annually as part of negotiations.
Former foreign secretary David Lammy told Parliament that talks were “suspended” following Israel’s actions in Gaza. Formal UK recognition of Palestinian statehood is also believed to have damaged joint-relations.
Additionally, the UK was become a leading voice in banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. So far, 11 nations have joined the UK in proposing to halt any kind of goods trade with these settlements, a move which was condemned by the Israeli foreign minister.
Completed deals
- UK entry into the CPTPP was finally completed at the start of September, when Canada ratified UK membership
- The UK signed a full agreement with South Korea in December 2025
- In July 2026, negotiations on the UK-Switzerland ‘enhanced’ trade agreement were concluded
Member exclusive
