Services are a vital part of the UK’s economy. They account for close to 80% of its GDP. Services exports are around 45% of total UK exports by value, and will in all likelihood overtake goods in the near future. Over the last 10 years, services exports to the EU have grown at an annual […]
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On 27 March, the House of Commons voted on eight approaches to “Brexit”, as alternatives to the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK and the EU in 2018. Votes on these plans were indicative i.e. they were not binding on the government. In the event, all motions were rejected, including motions in favour of a […]
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With the UK parliament showing little sign of resolving its differences of opinion with itself on the UK’s departure from the EU, the UK government has published a list of customs duties that would apply “temporarily” in the event of a “no-deal“ exit. The government says that under such arrangements 87% of imports to the […]
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The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released negotiating objectives for a prospective Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the UK. The publication of such objectives is a routine event before the US enters into any trade negotiations. But it made headlines in the UK, which has little or no direct experience of trade negotiations. The […]
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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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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 […]
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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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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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Could the future relationship between the UK and the EU take on a Canadian flavour? That is the proposal put forward by Boris Johnson in the run up to the Conservative Party’s conference. In an article on 28 September, he called for a “SuperCanada” agreement as the model the UK and the EU should adopt […]
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Along with the Irish border, the question of free movement was one of the seemingly intractable questions at the recent EU summit in Salzburg. Put simply the EU does not want to convey the impression that it is possible for the UK – or any other member -to give up a commitment to this key […]
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