THE troubled trade deal between Canada and the EU is a timely reminder that negotiations between Britain and its erstwhile trade partners are likely to be long and tortuous.

Negotiations between the EU and Canada have proceeded at a torpid pace for seven years only for the final deal to be torpedoed by a region of Belgium smaller than Wales.

Supporters of Brexit will say the collapse of trade talks show why Britain is right to go it alone.

The difficulties go to the heart of the EU’s problems.

The EU is the world’s biggest free trade zone but its rules, which stipulate that all new deals must be approved by every government, make it impossible to conclude deals quickly and efficiently.

If the EU cannot find common cause with a Euro-friendly nation like Canada what chance does it have of doing the same with non-Western countries?

And what chance does it have of reaching a mutually-beneficial arrangement with the UK in a mere two years? If Canada is any indicator then it has no chance at all.

The tortuous talks will also raise further questions over the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the EU and US, which is far more controversial than the Canadian deal.

In the past couple of weeks it looks as though the UK Government has woken up to the impossible time-frame. Why else would Theresa May float the idea of a ‘hard’ Brexit if a deal was a realistic ambition? We are being prepared for a clean break with Europe under World Trade Organisation rules from 2020.

Outwardly Mrs May remains sanguine about the prospect of a deal and Brexiteers believe political expediency will force both sides to conclude a deal.

All we can be sure of is that it will not be easy.