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Empire strikes back as Fox seeks post-Brexit trade deals

Liam Fox will meet ministers from dozens of Commonwealth nations later as he tries to strengthen post-Brexit trade partnerships.

Liam Fox
Image: Dr Fox wants to outline deals with the likes of Australia, India and Canada
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Ministers from 34 Commonwealth countries will descend on London later as the Government hosts its biggest international trade meeting since the Brexit vote.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox hopes the event will boost relationships and open up talks for an African free trade zone.

But some Whitehall officials fear the Government is placing too much expectation on countries that once belonged to the British Empire, and have mockingly dubbed the move "Empire 2.0". This language has not impressed international figures.

One former minister of state for India, Shashi Tharoor, told LBC's Iain Dale that the phrase would "go down like a lead balloon" and described British rule in India as "200 years of plunder and exploitation".

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There is nonetheless goodwill to the UK - and strength in long-standing relationships that predate its membership of the EU.

Some will sense an opportunity in the UK leaving the restrictions of the Common Market, others worry it will have a negative impact on their own trade within the European area.

Most Commonwealth nations already have some preferential access to the EU under economic partnership agreements - this gives many countries tariff-free access to the UK market while it remains part of the EU, so without new arrangements the trading relationship could actually get worse.

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Dr Fox wants to reassure those countries that this will not happen, and will promise attendees to the event at Lancaster House that their trading relationships with the UK should stay the same or improve after Brexit.

The UK currently sells vastly more goods and services to the 27 members of the EU than it does to the 51 nations of its former empire. But this balance could shift post-Brexit.

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Dr Fox will look to outline deals with a number of countries including Australia, New Zealand, India and Canada, who are all sending trade ministers to the meeting.

However, many Commonwealth nations have their own trading criteria, as Dr Fox discovered on Theresa May's delegation to India in November.

Here, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it clear that trading improvements were dependent on the lifting of restrictions on immigration to the UK from India.

Under EU rules, nations cannot forge unilateral deals until after they have left the union, but Britain is keen to get going so that deals are in place by the time the UK leaves the European Union.