Free trade agreements of the United Kingdom

These treaties are divided into two types of free trade agreements: continuity agreements and 'new' agreements. Continuity agreements, also named rollover agreements, make use of a mutatis mutandis concept in order to quickly replicate the existing EU agreements, only having to call out those minor areas of differentiation. Most continuity treaties were provisionally applied, or through a "bridging mechanism", thus continuity was achieved. Trade agreements negotiated after Brexit are termed 'new', or enhanced agreements: these agreements have been negotiated from scratch or have been renegotiated to expand the deal since Brexit.

As of July 2026, the United Kingdom has 40 active free trade agreements with nations and trade blocs, covering 103 countries and territories. Six of these are 'new' trade agreements, such as with Australia, India, and New Zealand. The UK is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Competence and ratification

According to UK law the United Kingdom Parliament has the power to pass law in all policy areas.

The UK's negotiating team will consult with its Strategic Trade Advisory Group throughout the negotiations.

Ratification

The responsibility for concluding treaties involving the UK lies with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. This remains the case even when the negotiation of the treaty is led by another government department.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office's legal advisers and Treaty Section:

must be given the opportunity to comment on the drafts of all treaties under negotiation
will advise on the form and substance of the treaty, though not substance which is technical and of which the other government department is the expert
will advise on related matters such as the production of Full Powers and Instruments of Ratification
will produce original signature copies of treaties and advise on the treaty signing ceremony
will arrange for the treaty to be published and laid before Parliament
is responsible for the registration of these treaties with the United Nations, allowing their subsequent publication in the United Nations Treaty Series
will transfer of the treaties to the National Archives for preservation

Unless expressly authorised to do so by the United Kingdom government, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories do not have the authority to contract treaties in their own right. The UK must extend the territorial scope of its ratification of treaties to include them. This may be done either at the time of ratification, or at some later date.

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Active agreements

The following free trade agreements are currently in effect. The following lists include three types of regional trade agreements as classified by the World Trade Organization, including free trade agreements (FTA), economic integration agreements (EIA), and customs unions (CU). Signature and entry into force dates are as listed by the World Trade Organization.

Independent agreements

The following bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements are currently active independently from a trade bloc:

Trade bloc membership

The United Kingdom is currently a member of one trade bloc, which covers multilateral free trade with fellow members.

Negotiations

The United Kingdom is currently pursuing free trade agreements with new countries using three methods. The first of is negotiating completely new trade agreements with a country. The second is through a country applying and acceding to a trade bloc of which the United Kingdom is currently a member. The third way is through encouraging countries to join existing plurilateral trade agreements.

Active negotiations

The following countries are in active negotiations, have drafted, or signed a new free trade agreement with the UK government:

Previous negotiations

The following countries have previously opened negotiations with the UK government for a free trade agreement, but negotiations have since been suspended, stagnated, or removed from the UK governments trade negotiations agenda. The United Kingdom has formally suspended negotiations for a free trade agreement on two occasions; it suspended free trade negotiations with Canada in January 2024, and Israel in May 2025.

Preliminary discussions

The following countries have reportedly discussed negotiating a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, however negotiations have not been formally opened.

Trade bloc applicants

The following countries have applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade bloc of which the United Kingdom is a member.

EPA enlargement

The following countries can accede to an existing plurilateral Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Kingdom.

Obsolete agreements

The following free trade agreements were previously active, however they have since been superseded or terminated. Signature, entry into force and obsolete dates are as listed by the World Trade Organization.

Former independent agreements

The following bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements were previously active independently from a trade bloc:

Former trade bloc memberships

The United Kingdom was previously a member of the following trade blocs, which covered multilateral free trade with fellow members.

European Union agreements

The following agreements are European Economic Community/European Union free trade agreements with third nations of which the UK was a part during its membership of the European Union.

Largest trading partners

Historically, WTO imports and exports are based on the rule of origin, while EU imports/exports are based on single market statistics.

The figures above are for 2024.