Timothy Murphy wrote
Rod Speed wrote

That isnt how all of the USA, Canada, India,
China, Taiwan, Korea, Bangladesh, Singapore,
etc etc etc trade under the WTO rules now.

There are trade agreements between most of these countries:

But not between those countrys and the
EU and they all trade with the EU fine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bilateral_free_trade_agreements.

If as you say the WTO rules are just as good,

I never ever said anything even remotely like that.

I JUST said that Britain is free to trade under the WTO
rules until it negotiates other trade agreements.

why do they go to the trouble (lots of
trouble) of negotiating trade deals?

Because that can result in a better arrangement than using
the WTO rules. That is what the EEC was always about.

Why is the EU negotiating with Canada?

For the same reason.

What is the point of the Asia-Pacific trade agreement?

For the same reason.

Or innumerable other trade deals?

For the same reason.