Commentary
The UK parliament has voted to convene elections for 12 December 2019. Whether this will clarify the timing and means by which the UK would leave the EU remains to be seen. What is clear is that trade policy will be, explicitly or implicitly, one of the key electoral issues, for the first time in […]
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The political tumult in the UK over the manner in which Brexit would happen has all but drowned out discussions on the UK’s trade policy after Brexit. Admittedly, the matter of a UK-USA free trade agreement periodically resurfaces. But usually in headline-grabbing ways shorn of serious analysis, as was the case during US Vice President […]
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A central plank of the UK Government’s Brexit policy is to re-establish an “independent” UK international trade policy following more than forty years of integration into the Common Commercial Policy (CCP) of the European Union. This would have been hard enough technically, even without the ill-tempered stand-off into which the Brexit negotiations have now declined. […]
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An “independent trade policy” is one of the main prizes proponents of Brexit wish to claim. The issue was barely mentioned during the referendum campaign. But both the Withdrawal Agreement and the Political Declaration state it as one of the main objectives for the UK. And opponents of both frequently point to provisions within these […]
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President Trump’s state visit has once again brought the question of a UK-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) back into the headlines. The US administration has on previous occasions expressed its readiness to begin negotiations with the UK. And in early 2019, the US Trade Representative’s office released its negotiating objectives. The breadth and depth of […]
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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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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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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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