UK’s Truss: Exports to rise by a billion pounds on trade deals with Australia, NZ

In a media statement on Wednesday, the UK Trade Minister Liz Truss said that trade deals will Australia and New Zealand are likely to boost the country’s exports by a billion pounds.

Truss set out the objectives ahead of the start of the formal talks.

“Ambitious, wide-ranging free trade agreements with old friends like Australia and New Zealand are a powerful way for us ... to make good on the promise of Brexit,” Truss added.

This comes after the New Zealand government announced earlier that it has formally launched free trade talks with Britain, per Reuters.

The first round of talks is scheduled to take place by video conference from mid-July.

Market reaction

The GBP/USD pair consolidates the bounce from near 1.2540 region, now trading 0.15% lower at 1.2554. The focus now remains on the UK CPI data for fresh impetus.