OTTAWA - Canada and Britain signed the Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement on Saturday, an interim post-Brexit trade agreement that will take effect on Jan 1, 2021 after the post-Brexit transition period expires.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his British counterpart Boris Johnson announced the deal at a live video news conference on Saturday.

The new deal will provide continued access to the benefits of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on a bilateral basis, including the elimination of tariffs on 98 percent of Canadian products exported to the UK

"Now we get to continue to work on a bespoke agreement, a comprehensive agreement, over the coming years that will really maximize our trade opportunities and boost things for everyone," Trudeau said.

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"Free trade is an important part of the way that we're going to bounce back from COVID, but I also think that Canada and the UK share a perspective about building back greener," said Johnson.

The new deal will roll over the provisions in the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which will no longer include the UK on Jan 1.

It will provide continued access to the benefits of CETA on a bilateral basis, including the elimination of tariffs on 98 percent of Canadian products exported to the UK.

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The UK is Canada's fifth largest trading partner after the United States, China, Mexico and Japan.