Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK) will sign a final trade agreement that will replicate the effects of the trade relationship between the two nations prior to the end of the transition period following the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union on Friday, March 5, 2021.
This was made known by Minister-designate for Trade and Industry Alan Kyerematen during his vetting in Parliament last week.
Some industry leaders, especially in the fruits and vegetables sector as well as the tuna sector, had revealed weeks ago that the lack of a new trade deal between the two countries post-Brexit was threatening thousands of jobs in Ghana.
Some companies saw their cost of production going up as they had to pay new tariffs to export their produce, while others like banana exporters lost about 1/5th of their exports for some time because of the absence of an agreement.
Speaking at his vetting last Friday, Mr Kyerematen told the Appointments Committee of Parliament that efforts had been put in place to ensure a fair deal.
“After series of consultations and engagements, hopefully on the 5th of March, Ghana will sign a new trade agreement with the UK,” he said.
