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UK, Norway and Iceland Sign Trade Continuity Agreement, UK Statement Reads

This comes at a time when the UK and the EU have been engaged in challenging talks concerning the terms of their post-Brexit trade co-operation.
Sputnik

The UK, Norway and Iceland have signed a trade continuity agreement, a statement issued by London reads.

It has been specified that this is an interim agreement before the countries complete their negotiations on a comprehensive free-trade deal which will take effect next year.

UK Trade Secretary Liz Truss took to Twitter to announce the signing of the agreement.

The agreement covers trade in goods and envisages that 95 percent of goods traded with Norway and more than 90 percent with Iceland will remain tariff-free, the statement said, as quoted by Reuters.

In 2019, trade in goods between the UK and Norway and Iceland was worth 20 billion pounds (nearly $27 billion).

After the UK left the EU on 31 January, the two sides have been involved in difficult negotiations concerning their trade relations post-Brexit. With an 11-month extension period coming to an end on 31 December, there is still no breakthrough in the talks, with the parties as yet unable to compromise on a number of key points. 

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