18 February 2021
Over the course of this round, negotiators carried out over 40 sessions across the Free Trade Agreement. Twenty-five new texts were exchanged before the round – building on the 35 texts shared prior to the second round – allowing for more detailed discussions.
Good progress was made building on the constructive relationship established in the first two rounds. Discussions were pragmatic and identified considerable areas of convergence. Negotiators on both sides continued to recognise high levels of alignment and commonality in objectives; this has led to many chapters moving to consolidated text.
Both the UK and New Zealand also continue to engage stakeholders to ensure our respective proposals are informed by their views.
The success of the deal will depend on how the UK uses its newfound freedom The key element of preserving the UK’s regulatory autonomy . has been successfully secured
29 December 2020 • 12:51am
Now that the deal is done, which marks the beginning of a new relationship the UK will have not only with the EU but the wider world, the questions which are being asked of us as a nation have changed. Now the key question is how well will we use our newfound freedom? The question of why we need freedom was set out clearly in David Frost’s Brussels speech which argued cogently that such freedom was not a tactic but the whole purpose of the project.