British PM Theresa May Whittles Down Brexit Trade Options: Key Facts

London: British Prime Minister Theresa May will set out in more detail on Tuesday her priorities for Brexit negotiations, saying Britain will seek a new partnership rather than adopting any of the existing models used by other countries.

May will say Britain will not seek a Brexit deal that leaves it "half in, half out" of the European Union in a speech at 1145 GMT that indicates she is prepared to leave the bloc's single market and seek a bespoke British deal.

Below are some of the options that May appears to have left open for Britain to pursue as it prepares to leave the EU, which accounts for almost half of British goods exports in value terms, as well as those that she appears to have ruled out:

OPTIONS MAY HAS LEFT OPEN:

FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA)

It is likely Britain will seek a free trade deal with the EU. Last year Canada signed an agreement with the bloc which removed 99 percent of customs duties.

Supporters of an FTA argue this would allow Britain to trade with the EU largely as before, while also leaving it free to agree trade deals directly with other countries such as the United States, its biggest individual export partner, and emerging markets.

Brexit supporters have argued that as Britain has a trade goods deficit with the EU -- a record 8.59 billion pounds in November 2016 -- the bloc could not afford to cut it off.

But critics point out these deals take far longer than two years to agree -- the Canadian agreement will have taken seven years by the time it is expected to come into force -- and argue Britain outside the EU would not have the same clout in negotiating trade deals with the rest of the world.

Getting rid of barriers to trade in services, the dominant sector in Britain's economy, is also likely to be harder. Those backing "Out" argue barriers already exist within the EU.

The deeper the trade agreement, the more EU regulation Britain would have to abide by, according to the Centre for European Reform think tank.

WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION TERMS

If Britain is unable to agree a free trade deal with the EU, it could fall back on WTO rules -- described by some in the "Out" camp as a "Brexit safety net" -- which set upper limits on tariffs countries can impose.

This would give Britain low or zero tariffs on many of its exports to the EU, though tariffs in some key sectors such as cars, chemicals and food would remain relatively high.

Britain would also face barriers on services, particularly in highly regulated sectors such as financial services.

Under both a free trade agreement and WTO terms, Britain would not have to accept free movement of EU citizens, a pillar of the bloc and a condition of access to the single market.

OPTIONS MAY APPEARS TO HAVE RULED OUT:

GREENLAND

Greenland left the EU's predecessor, the EEC, in 1985 after a referendum three years earlier.

After leaving the bloc, the Danish territory continued to receive EU funding and have tariff-free access to the market for fisheries products in return for allowing the EU fishing rights over its waters.

Most commentators argue there is little read-across from the example of Greenland as it was not a member state in its own right, but joined as part of Denmark, and has a much smaller population of just 57,000.

Given there are around 2 million Britons living abroad within the EU, and 2.5 million EU citizens living in Britain, one element of the Greenland deal which may be copied are its transitional arrangements.

Greenland's deal allowed for EU migrants who had acquired rights under EU law, such as free movement, to retain those rights for a transitional period.

SWITZERLAND

Switzerland, along with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

Its goods exporters enjoy tariff-free access to EU markets, while it is also free to negotiate its own trade deals with non-EU countries. It has a free trade deal with China, for example, whereas the EU does not.

It has only limited access to the EU's services market however, and almost none for financial services -- a significant contributor to the British economy.

While Switzerland has freedom over its own social and employment policies, something many in Britain would like, it also pays contributions to the EU budget and accepts free movement of people -- two elements of EU membership that British "Out" campaigners want to get away from.

Switzerland experiences far higher levels of net EU migration per head of its population than Britain.

NORWAY

As well as being a part of EFTA, Norway has access to the EU's single market by being a member of the European Economic Area. In return, it accepts freedom of movement of EU citizens, pays contributions to the EU budgets and applies the single market's rules and regulations without having a vote on them.

Norway pays twice as much per head to the EU as Britain and takes twice as many migrants.

Under the Norway model, most EU policy areas would continue to apply to Britain, in particular many of the employment laws often cited by businesses as overly restrictive.

Like Switzerland, Norway has the freedom to negotiate its own free trade agreements with non-EU countries. It is also not subject to the European Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction May is expected to say she will seek to remove Britain from.

The tiny principality of Liechtenstein is also a member of the EEA, but operates a restrictive policy when it comes to rights of residence, including an immigration quota.

TURKEY

Turkey, which is a candidate country to join the EU, has a customs union agreement with the bloc. The deal means it does not face tariffs to export most goods into the EU, and accepts the EU's external tariffs when trading with non-EU countries. It does not have any say in setting these tariffs however.

The agreement also does not cover services markets.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)