Japan was one of the most important EU trade deals the UK hoped to replicate in the event of a no-deal Brexit, as the value of British exports to Japan amount to £9.9bn every year.The Department for International Trade said it is currently negotiating continuity agreements with 40 countries currently covered by EU membership, but Japan has to be excluded because the EU trade deal has only come into force this month.

The EU’s trade agreement with Turkey will be also excluded.In 2017, Liam Fox said the UK would be able to replicate 40 EU free trade deals by the 29 March, which is the scheduled date for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.But so far, the government has been able to secure transition agreements with just seven of the 69 countries and regions which have tra…