“As an international economic department, we are committed to seeking continuity in our current trade and investment relationships, including those covered by EU FTAs or other EU preferential arrangements,” a DIT spokesperson said. "Discussions have begun to establish what may be possible with our trading partners in order to achieve this and provide certainty for businesses.



“We are confident that it will be possible to agree arrangements with third countries who have existing EU FTAs that replicate, as far as possible, the effects of these by the time the UK exits the EU."

The spokesperson added: “The process of seeking continuity will be a technical one, not a renegotiation, allowing us to progress swiftly."

But some experts believe Britain is being overconfident, and question whether the process of replicating dozens of agreements and arrangements is merely a technical one as claimed.

“The question over how much politics enters the fray in converting these agreements depends on the degree of integration the third countries have with the EU,” Allie Renson, head of Europe and trade policy at the Institute of Directors, told BuzzFeed News.

“Most of its existing trade agreements should be a more technically straightforward case of replication with the third country, particularly the older ones where the scope is limited.

"However, Turkey and the EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) are bound to be more difficult and would be more likely to warrant the involvement of the EU, because of the customs union Turkey has, and the EEA agreement – where our relationship to the EU's customs union and EEA law going forward is still far from clear."