20 December 2016
In the season of goodwill, let’s not forget our responsibilities to developing countries when we leave the EU.
Rorden Wilkinson is Professor of International Relations and a fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory
A great deal of the Brexit debate has focused on the possible shape of the UK’s trade architecture after 2019. It has, however, largely ignored how others—particularly developing countries—see or will be affected by the UK’s departure from the European Union (EU). I think this is to our peril and we should, with some urgency, turn our attention to thinking about the future of our relationship with the developing world. But we need to do so remembering to shoulder our responsibilities to weaker and poorer countries, extending ‘goodwill’ to all. (more…)
Charlotte Humma December 20th, 2016
Posted In: UK - Non EU
16 December 2016
The United Kingdom may opt to leave the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for greenhouse gases. If so, a central plank of UK climate policy will need to be replaced at short notice. The UK is a large importer of emission permits, and meeting its climate policy targets would be much harder and dearer without the EU ETS. The impact on the EU would be limited, although UK permits circulating in the rest of the EU would lose their legal standing between Brexit and 2021. Non-EU countries take part in the EU ETS, and this appears to be the best option for the UK post-Brexit.
Richard Tol is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex. (more…)
Charlotte Humma December 20th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
14 December 2016
With exports of services worth £220 billion to the UK economy, we need to make sure that Brexit discussions don’t ignore this vital component of the UK’s trading environment.
Dr Ingo Borchert is Lecturer in Economics and a fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. (more…)
Charlotte Humma December 14th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Car Industry, Financial Services, Services, Single Market
16 November 2016
At the end of last month, Nissan confirmed a major investment in its Sunderland site following support and assurances from Teresa May. This news was received with much speculation as to what the “support and assurances” of the British government could be.
Whilst the details are yet to emerge from Number 10, Dr Peter Holmes reveals different options of what a special post-Brexit deal for Nissan, and the car industry generally, could be. (more…)
Charlotte Humma November 16th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Car Industry, Nissan, Sectoral Deals
9 November 2016
L. Alan Winters, Professor of Economics and Director of UKTPO.
Donald Trump viewed Brexit as a great victory. He also said that the UK would not be at the back of the line for trade deals – perhaps because there would be no line! But where does Trump’s victory leave the overall strategy of Brexit? It makes keeping good access to the EU market – some form of soft Brexit – even more important than it was previously. (more…)
Charlotte Humma November 9th, 2016
Posted In: UK - Non EU
Tags: Protectionism, USA
7 November 2016
L. Alan Winters, Professor of Economics and Director of UKTPO.
The ideal trading partner is rich, large, similar and next door. For the UK this means the EU, and for the UK government, this means trade negotiations with our European neighbours must take priority.
In my recent article for the NIESR November Review, I explore the reasons why negotiating the UK’s future trade arrangements is a massive job. These are the main points I raise. (more…)
Charlotte Humma November 7th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Negotiations, WTO
19 October 2016
L. Alan Winters is Professor of Economics and Director of the UKTPO
Rule 1 for negotiation: work out what you want and how much you can pay for it.
Rule 2: try to understand where the other side is coming from and how they feel.
The muted mood this week among trade specialists in Sweden, one of the UK’s closest allies in the EU, should serve as a reality check ahead of Brexit negotiations. If we want to make Brexit work, we need to take their views seriously. (more…)
Charlotte Humma October 19th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Article 50, Sweden
14 October 2016
L. Alan Winters is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex, and director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. Nick Jacob is an associate tutor and research student in economics – also at the University of Sussex.
Few doubt that Brexit poses some immense challenges for the British economy. But for a government that professes to want an economy that ‘works for everyone’, there is possibly one encouraging factor: Brexit seems likely to help re-balance the economy. This note asks what Brexit implies for different parts of the UK and suggests two reasons why regions outside London and the South East could be less severely challenged. (more…)
Charlotte Humma October 14th, 2016
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
12 October 2016
Guest blog by Phil Molyneux, Dean of the College of Business, Law, Education and Social Sciences and Professor of Banking and Finance at Bangor University.
It’s not looking good in the City or anywhere within the UK financial services sector. The sector contributed £66 billion in tax revenues to the UK Exchequer in 2015 – around 11% of total income – so this is potentially a concern for all of us. (more…)
Charlotte Humma October 12th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Banking, Financial Services
30 September 2016
Erika Szyszczak is Professor of Law in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology at the University of Sussex, and a member of UKTPO.
The “first 100 days” has become a standard by which to evaluate important political times. Undoubtedly, the momentous decision on 23 June 2016 to break up the current geopolitical space of Europe will be examined by historians as a decisive period of modern European history.
From a lawyer’s perspective the most striking feature of the last 100 days has been the legal uncertainty of how to implement the referendum result. This represents the challenge we love. So this blog examines some of these uncertainties. (more…)
Charlotte Humma September 30th, 2016
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Article 50, Legal Issues, Withdrawal process
