Trade policy Trio of agreements means Britain is the place to invest, says Reeves

Rachel Reeves joked to journalists after yesterday's EU-UK reset that trade deals were coming along "like buses" after agreements with India and the US were also sealed recently.

- Heather Stewart

The chancellor described the EU deal as the best secured by any non-member country; but she was also keen to talk about the three successful negotiations as a package.

The government accepts the EU deal will not be transformational for the UK's growth prospects in itself - boosting GDP by 0.3% over 15 years, according to officials - but hopes it can persuade investors to take a fresh look at the UK.

"It shows Britain now is the place to put investment and business, because we've got preferential deals with the biggest economies around the world," Reeves said.

"And so I'm confident that these deals will lead to investment coming to Britain."

Labour hopes that will boost confidence, and help to deliver the growth it sorely needs to deliver on its promises to voters.

Three aspects of the EU agreement have been particularly welcomed by business, and form the core of the economic package - although many details remain to be negotiated.

The first is the long-hoped-for agreement to create a common sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) area, under which cumbersome checks on food and agricultural products will be lifted in return for the UK aligning with EU standards in these areas.

Boris Johnson, presenting his trade and cooperation agreement with the EU on Christmas Eve 2020, wrongly claimed there would be "no non-tariff barriers to trade".