Trading partners seek post-Brexit clarity at WTO

GENEVA (Reuters) - Major trading partners called on Britain and the European Union (EU) on Friday to clarify terms for renegotiating tariff levels after Brexit and for compensating their suppliers for any lost market access, a Geneva trade official said.

At a closed-door meeting of the World Trade Organization, held just 50 days before the end of the transition period, they also sought details of how EU-UK trade will be treated in the absence of a bilateral agreement, he said.

Australia, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, the United States and Uruguay were among delegations to take the floor at the talks, the official said.

"The time-clock counting down to the UK's final departure from the EU Customs Union has been ticking ever more loudly and insistently – with now less than 50 days to go until the end of the UK transition period," New Zealand's delegation was quoted as saying by the official.

Yet there had been only "limited engagement" by the UK and the EU on addressing fundamental concerns raised by a large number of WTO members regarding their respective proposals to cut back market access opportunities, it said.

One of the issues members complained of was a lack of clarity on renegotiations of so-called tariff rate quotas which fix duty levels on imported goods.

The UK, which only gained its own seat at the Geneva-based trade body after leaving the EU in January, said it was looking forward to building on recent negotiations. The European Union said it hoped to move towards the finalisation of discussions with as many WTO members as possible by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Emma Farge; Editing by Nick Macfie)