Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, appears on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in London, Britain July 15, 2018. Jeff Overs/BBC Handout via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May won approval from the lower of house of parliament on Tuesday for a law needed to let Britain pursue an independent trade policy once it leaves the European Union.

Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 317 to 286 in favor of the trade legislation, which is focused on converting trade deals between the EU and third countries into bilateral deals with Britain. It is a technical bill and was not originally intended to define new trade policy.

The bill must also be passed by the House of Lords to become law.