UK Trade with Trade Agreement Continuity (TAC) Countries
UK Trade with Trade Agreement Continuity (TAC) Countries – the Statistics
Statistical ad hoc release
Published: 10 June 2019
Contents
- Summary
- Key statistics
- Chart 1: UK Trade Agreements in the context of total UK trade
- Table 1: Trade with countries party to UK signed trade agreements, 2018 data, £ million
- Table 2: UK Trade with countries party to existing EU trade agreements, 2018 data, £ million
- Methodology and Quality notes
Summary
1. This release provides key numbers on UK trade agreements. These statistics do not estimate the value or impact of the trade agreements themselves, they provide, for context, the overall value of the UK’s trade with countries covered by these agreements. These countries are sometimes referred to as ‘Trade Agreement Continuity’ (TAC) countries.
Key statistics
2. The Government is seeking continuity for our existing EU trade agreements as we leave the European Union (see methodology note 1).
3. UK trade with countries party to trade agreements with which we are seeking continuity accounted for £139bn or 11% of UK’s total trade (goods and services) in 2018.
4. Agreements have now been signed with countries that account for more than half (53%) of the UK’s trade with all TAC countries. Once the UK-Korea Agreement is in place, which has been agreed in principle today, this number will rise to 63% of that trade.
5. This would mean we have already secured continuity on £88 billion of UK trade. That has moved from £39 billion in the past 3 months.
Chart 1: UK Trade Agreements in the context of total UK trade (goods and services)
UK Trade Agreements in the Context of Total UK Trade in Goods & Services
Table 1: Trade with TAC target countries party to UK signed trade agreements and those agreed in principle, 2018 data, £ million
Trade with TAC Target Countries Party to UK Signed Trade Agreements & Those Agreed in Principle
Table 2: UK Trade with TAC target countries party to agreements still to be agreed, 2018 data, £ million
UK Trade with TAC target Countries Party to Agreements Still to be Agreed
Methodology and Quality notes
The department provides additional notes on the quality of the data in this release under the following headings:
1. Relevance: The statistics provided indicate progress towards securing continuity of existing trade agreements. The agreements covered in this release exclude Turkey, San Marino and Andorra, which are part of a customs union with the EU, and excludes Japan, as the Economic Partnership Agreement only came into force on 1st February 2019. Further information on UK trade agreements are published on .GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/existing-trade-agreements-if-the-uk-leaves-the-euwithout-a-deal/existing-trade-agreements-if-the-uk-leaves-the-eu-without-a-deal
2. Content: The statistics provided estimate the value of UK trade with countries who are party to trade agreements. Data cover the period 2018, the latest available. All trade values within this release are taken from the most recent published ONS statistics ‘UK total trade: all countries, non-seasonally adjusted October to December 2018 release’: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade/datasets/uktotaltradeallcountriesnonseasonallyadjusted
3. Completeness: These statistics do not estimate the value or impact of the trade agreements themselves, they provide, for context, the overall value of the UK’s trade with countries covered by these agreements. In particular these statistics cover the UK’s bilateral trade with partner countries covering all exports and imports of goods and services.
4. Geographical coverage: This analysis was conducted for the UK and countries party to trade agreements for which we are seeking continuity (see Relevance). The UK geographical coverage for ONS statistics is defined on a balance of payments basis.
5. User needs: This release provides contextual information for policy makers, parliamentarians, businesses, the media and the wider public, and to contribute to the wider government transparency agenda.
6. Accuracy: The accuracy of results is dependent on the accuracy of the data sources used. UK trade values are sourced from published ONS statistics. Further information on methodology and quality is available on the ONS website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/internationaltrade
7. Uncertainty and bias: Trade data is volatile and frequently revised. The use of annual figures in this release provides greater stability than using quarterly figures.
8. Timeliness and punctuality: This is an ad hoc release. It should be noted that the underlying statistics from ONS can be revised on a quarterly basis. The policy context underlying this release is also subject to change (see Relevance and Content).
9. Accessibility and clarity: All the statistics provided in this release are based on publicly available information (see Relevance and Content).
10. Coherence and comparability: Trade statistics have been provided from a single source for all countries, so that values are comparable.
11. Performance cost and respondent burden: Not applicable
12. Security, confidentiality and transparency: All statistics released are calculated based on previously published information (see Relevance and Content).
Further information and feedback
You can contact the DIT Statistics Team if you have any questions or comments about this release. Email: statistics@trade.gov.uk. Please use ‘UK trade with Trade Agreement Continuity (TAC) Countries’ as your subject line. Responsible statistician: Christina Barfoot
UK Trade with Trade Agreement Continuity (TAC) Countries – the Statistics
Copyright: Open Government Licence v3.0
