Complementing the technical material in the Knowledge section, the TKE here delivers commentary on key trade issues. While you won't find comments on the breaking news of the day, you will find measured, analytical thoughts on important topics and the key issues under debate.
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There are four months to go until the European Union’s October 2018 deadline for finalisation of a Brexit withdrawal agreement which can be put to the member states for ratification, and nine months until March 29 2019 when the UK, according to its withdrawal notification, will cease to be a member state. Meanwhile the complexity […]
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Twenty-eight years after they last managed it, England have made the semi-final of football’s World Cup. England’s match against the then West Germany in Turin in July 1990, came in the middle of a tumultuous time for Europe. The Berlin wall had recently come down, and German reunification was on the horizon. This time round, […]
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What role can the UK carve out for itself in global trade policy after leaving the EU? It will be able to speak with an “independent” and “distinctive” voice, will relentlessly push the case for free trade and multilateralism, and will strive to ensure that everyone is able to access the benefits of trade. That, […]
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Political debate in the UK has been dominated in the last few months by the issue of the “Irish Backstop”. Division over the issue has prevented parliamentary ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by the UK Government and the EU. The impact of the UK leaving the EU on a “no deal” basis – i.e. […]
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Introduction The Agriculture Bill is part of the Government’s Brexit preparation. As the UK leaves the EU, British farmers will no longer be able to receive EU subsidies and will not have to comply with a number of regulations. However, it is likely that they will require financial support. The Bill brings together agriculture and […]
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Brexit negotiations between the UK and the EU create a “policy externality”. That is, their outcome will have effects on third parties that have no direct say in the negotiations. The scope for these externalities increases the more these parties are dependent on the UK and EU for their trade, and the bigger the share […]
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Where the United Kingdom stands now UK politics are in turmoil following the Government’s last-minute decision on 10 December to postpone the House of Commons “meaningful vote” – which had been scheduled for the following day – on the draft UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement and its accompanying Political Declaration on future bilateral relations. Ministers had been […]
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BREXIT – WHEREVER NEXT? On November 14 2018 the United Kingdom Cabinet agreed, following what was described as an “impassioned” debate, to the draft EU Withdrawal Agreement and the associated Political Declaration on the future UK/EU relationship which had been negotiated by officials. That opened the way for the EU 27 heads of government, to […]
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How do you work out a trade deal? If you are a party to one of the 280 or so other free trade agreements (FTAs) in the world[1], your starting point was the commitments you had made at the WTO. This is technically referred to trade on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) terms.[2] You and other […]
Read more In perhaps the most significant development since the UK voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, negotiators representing the UK and the EU member states have struck an agreement on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from EU membership. Accompanying that draft Withdrawal Agreement is a draft Political Declaration that provides a framework […]
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Where we are now It is now almost a month since the European Council discussion of Brexit on October 17, which had for many months been the target date for agreement on the UK’s terms of withdrawal. That meeting produced no agreement, but also no surprises because expectations on both sides of the Channel had […]
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What can be done to save the WTO? The question was on the minds of officials from 13 countries – including Canada, the European Union, Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, Kenya and Mexico – meeting in Ottawa at the end of October. The meeting came on the heels of proposals put forward by Canada and the EU, […]
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On Saturday October 20 the second, long-planned, march in support of a People’s Vote (that is, a further referendum) on the terms of any eventual Brexit deal took place in London. In perfect autumn weather the march wound its way from Park Lane through the centre of London in the direction of Parliament Square, where […]
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