In that case Britain could decide to let in more Canadian dairy products, or reduce restrictions on Canadian chicken and turkey which the EU refused to consider at all, arrangements which could boost consumer choice in the UK and cut prices on the supermarket shelves.

These deals could be concluded relatively quickly because templates are already in place.

Regulations may be more important than tariffs, according to Geoffrey Yu at UBS.

The EU tends to ban genetically modified crops while the UK is more keen to grow its cutting edge scientific industries, so if the government wished, that could be an option.

However, he added that the UK’s reputation for good regulations can be a benefit in trade, so it would not be wise to slash all red tape.

“A lot of countries want to use the UK as a shop window for their goods – there is still a belief that, whether it is in or out of the EU, the UK has strong requirements, that goods sold there have to meet certain criteria,” said Mr Yu.

“There is a view in emerging markets that if it is good enough for the UK it is good enough for anywhere. So it is a question of how to enhance bilateral relations without jeopardising the UK’s status as a place with high standards.”

A more difficult point is arranging deals in services, the more dominant part of the UK economy, because trade deals usually only include goods, he added