Under the deal agreed with South Korea, 98% of trade will continue to be tariff-free, the same terms that the EU has with the country, and which the UK maintained temporarily after Brexit.
Parts of the UK’s trade agreement with South Korea were set to expire in January 2026, but the new deal will protect £2bn of UK exports from an increase in tariffs, the government said.
South Korean culture, including music, cosmetics and food, has become much more popular in the UK in recent years.
Trade minister Chris Bryant announced the deal in Samsung’s flagship store in London on Monday night, accompanied by his Korean counterpart Yeo Han-koo.
Sir Keir said the deal was “a huge win for British business”.
“This deal making trade even easier between us will help boost the economy – supporting jobs and growth which will be felt all over the country,” he said.
Bryant said the deal would give “cast-iron protections to our key industries to speed up economic growth as part of our Plan for Change”.
South Korea is the UK’s 25th largest trading partner, according to the Department for Business and Trade. In the 12 months to the end of June this year, it accounted for 0.8% of the UK’s total trade.
Over that same 12-month period, official figures show UK exports to South Korea fell 16.4% and South Korean exports to the UK fell 10.8%.
South Korea’s trade minister told the BBC that South Korea and Britain’s economies “are complementary”, and denied that the fall in trade between the nations suggested the relationship wasn’t as important as it used to be.
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