The new Trade Bill.

Today the new Trade Bill was debated in the House of Commons, providing a legal framework on which the UK will trade as an independent trading power now that we have left the EU.

The current transition period with the EU will end on December 31 this year, and the UK will then have a fully independent trade policy that will allow us to strike ambitious new free trade deals with countries around the world.   That is why the government is introducing the Trade Bill to Parliament, so that Britain is  prepared to make the most of these new trading opportunities, and to ensure that our trade policy reflects the needs and potential of the whole of the UK as we emerge from the coronavirus.   This will help to reaffirm the UK as a global leader for free trade, and will make sure that our future trading policy works for every part of our country so that is more united and more outward looking than ever before.