(Bloomberg) --
The U.K. and New Zealand are close to finalizing a trade accord that would go beyond the rollover agreement struck when Britain left the European Union.
That's according to U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, who told the Daily Express the two sides were “closing in on a deal which would be one of the most advanced struck by any nation.”
Government sources told the newspaper the agreement with New Zeland would be the next signed in the Global Britain project.
Still, the proposed agreement is expected to provide “close to zero” uplift compared with not having a pact, according to official modeling by the U.K. government.
Read more: Brussels Backs Down: Beyond Brexit
The U.K. is seeking to deepen its international commercial ties following its split from the EU, which erected costly new trade barriers with its largest and closest market.
Britain's pursuing free-trade agreements with Australia and the U.S., and is also seeking to join the 11-nation Trans-Pacific partnership, of which New Zealand is a member.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has talked up the opportunity to sign bilateral trade deals as a key benefit of Brexit, but critics point to the relatively small expected boost to GDP compared with the U.K.'s former trading relationship with the EU.
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