Britain waiting for Parliament to return before deciding on pursuing Canada-U.K. trade deal

CBC

25-05-2025

British High Commissioner to Canada Rob Tinline says his government is waiting for the Canadian government to fully return before deciding whether to restart talks on a potential bilateral trade deal after negotiations fell apart at the beginning of last year.
When the Canadian government is "fully in place," the U.K. government will need to "work out whether there is a landing point [on a trade deal] and whether we want to pick that up," Tinline said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live that aired Sunday.
"We paused it a little bit over a year ago because we couldn't see a landing point," he added. "Since then, obviously, we've had a general election, you've had the general election, and you've got the speech from the throne."
In January 2024, the British government walked away from negotiations over a longer-term bilateral trade deal to replace the liberalized trade the U.K. enjoyed under the terms of Canada's Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union.
Tinline said there was "a set of issues around agriculture that we need to come back [to] and what the quotas are and what tariffs are on that."
A major sticking point between the two sides was how much tariff-free access U.K. producers should have to the Canadian cheese market.
After Brexit, an interim agreement kept tariff-free British cheese on Canadian shelves for three years. That more permissive regime expired at the end of 2023.
In the aftermath of the renegotiation of the former North American Free Trade Agreement, which saw changes to supply-managed sectors, then-prime minister Justin Trudeau promised dairy farmers that no more slices of Canada's domestic market would be served up to exporters in future negotiations.
When asked whether he's optimistic a deal can be reached, Tinline said his job "isn't to be optimistic or pessimistic."
"Our job is to work out what our objectives are and how we can take them forward. As the new Canadian government picks up, then we'll take forward that conversation."
On Tuesday, King Charles III will deliver the throne speech that opens a new session of Parliament and lays out the federal government's priorities. The King's visit will mark the third time the monarch has read the throne speech in Canada.
Ralph Goodale, Canada's high commissioner to the U.K., said the existing trade agreement between the two countries gives each of them "99 per cent tariff-free and quota-free access to each other's markets."
"So all that remains to be discussed is that remaining one per cent," Goodale said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live that aired Sunday.
"Of course, all of the tough issues are in the remaining one per cent, but what we both agreed upon is we'll continue to work at that small margin that's left."
Tinline also said the U.K. is hoping Canada's new Parliament will put forward a bill ratifying its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership so it can start enjoying the benefits of the Pacific trade deal.
Carney interested in new trade partners
Prime Minister Mark Carney has signalled multiple times that he's interested in strengthening Canada's trade relationships around the world as the United States continues to punish the Canadian economy with harsh tariffs.
In a letter Carney wrote to his new cabinet, he said the federal government "must redefine Canada's international, commercial, and security relationships."
The prime minister also told his Liberal caucus on Sunday afternoon that the country has "opportunities to build new partnerships with reliable allies" because "Canada has what the world needs. We defend the values that the world respects."
Almost immediately after he became prime minister in March, Carney travelled to London to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss how to strengthen Canada's commercial relationship with the U.K.
Goodale said Canada has a long-standing relationship with the U.K. that is more than just the economy — there's also "the trust and respect that comes with the promotion and defence of common values around the world that we've worked on together for generations."