UK and EU agree major new trade deal

A major new trade and security agreement between the UK and the EU was announced at a summit in London mid-May, aimed at rebuilding ties and easing post-Brexit tensions.

The deal includes a 12-year extension of EU access to UK fishing waters in exchange for reduced trade barriers on British food and agricultural products.

The UK will also gain access to the EU’s €150 billion defence fund, a move expected to benefit UK manufacturing and defence industries. The government says the deal will be worth £9 billion a year by 2040.

Anticipating the deal, unions cautiously welcomed the agreement as a step toward stability, but warned that future negotiations must put workers’ interests at the centre.

Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: “It’s time for a common sense trade deal that works for workers and business. That means reducing trading barriers to protect jobs in our communities — and upholding high standards on workers’ rights.”

The TUC, alongside European trade union federations, has long called for a reset in the UK-EU relationship, warning that Brexit-related frictions have damaged jobs and investment.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect specialists’ union said: “We need a closer relationship with the EU if we’re serious about growing the economy and improving pay and conditions.”