The EU has leapt ahead of the UK in the pursuit of free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand after member states gave the green light for talks to start within weeks.

The Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo confirms to MEPs that a trade deal with the EU will be prioritised over one with the UK.

Britain should not be forced to accept lower US food standards. But this is only a small part of the harm done by globalisation. What’s wrong with chlorinated chicken? It’s not as if chlorine is absent from our lives: we drink it in our tapwater every day. Surely it’s a small price to pay for the trade deal with the US that the British government seeks?

The European Union and Japan will launch the world’s largest free trade zone early next year after their economic partnership cleared a final hurdle on Wednesday. Some 70 percent of European Parliament lawmakers backed the agreement that binds two economies accounting for about a third of global gross domestic product and signals their rejection of protectionism.

Prime minister says current system is ‘generous enough’ in a move which could hamper Delhi trade talks

A transatlantic network of conservative think tanks accidentally published its secret plans to influence US-UK ... Documents outline plans to form an “unprecedented” coalition of hard-Brexit and libertarian think tanks, which will call for Britain to ditch strict EU safety standards – including rules on food and pharmaceuticals – in order to secure a sweeping US-UK trade deal.

But as potential havoc draws near, May’s government seems to have its attention elsewhere. Burdened by their deliberations with Europe, key cabinet ministers are instead trying to woo support from Britain’s former colonies.

Dr Amanda Kramer, Brexit Law NI, on the pervasive sense of unease around Brexit in Northern Ireland. She says loyalists fear the growing discussion around Irish unity, dissident republicans see Brexit as a colonial scourge and a "gift from God". / Lord Patten not optimistic about British chances of cutting trade deals nor impressed with Brexiteer solutions to avoid hard borders.

Parliament is at war with the government, and at war with itself. Both are battling a deeply divided electorate.

In this thread Steve Analyst reviews submissions from US businesses on their requirements for a US-UK trade deal including: lower food, contamination and safety standards; removing labels for traceability; admission of GMO; ...

Post-Brexit we will return to an outdated way of approving trade deals, with little role for Parliament, despite the huge implications of a US deal for public policy, health standards and the environment.

Liam Fox will fail to sign any of the 40 free trade deals he promised for "the second after" Brexit, in time, according to officials inside the UK government.

Leo Varadkar says UK 'won't have any trade deals with anyone', citing WTO rules and Good Friday commitments.

UK may face seven-year wait for frictionless trade under WTO rules if it crashes out of EU.

Could a new House of Commons amendment put pressure back on Ireland over the backstop? What does no deal mean for a hard border? (Multiple choice). And how has Davos been tackling Brexit questions?

The European Union (EU) and ASEAN have agreed to restart the process of establishing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between them, said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday (Jul 14).

The EU is one of Vietnam’s biggest trading partners, accounting for nearly a one-fifth of the country’s exports.

The European Union and Vietnam have recently finished negotiating a Trade Agreement and an Investment Protection Agreement.

US lobby groups for agriculture and pharmaceutical firms want UK standards changed to be closer to those of the US in a post-Brexit trade deal.