British Trade Minister Liz Truss is on a visit to New Zealand as part of a three-nation tour in a bid to finalize trade deals which will come into effect after Brexit. Prior to her discussions with New Zealand’s Trade Minister David Parker, Truss stated, “We’re going to be leaving the European Union on October 31 with or without a deal and as part of that agenda, striking trade deals much more broadly than we have been doing is going to be vitally important”.

Although New Zealand is one of the smallest trading partners of Britain, signing a trade deal with the nation is a priority and could very well be one of the first post-Brexit trade deals to be finalized. The trade relationship between the two countries stands at around £3.1 billion.

According to David Parker, New Zealand is keen on cooperating with Britain on wider trade forums and would like the new trade deal to maintain its traders’ advantages even after Britain leaves the European Union.