18 May 2017
Compiled by Fellows of UKTPO
Brexit will leave many areas of UK policy open to change. International trade policy is among the most important of these for UK prosperity and also among the most immediate because the status quo cannot simply be extended. This is the second in a series of blogs reporting what the major political parties say about trade policy in their 2017 manifestos, as they become available.
The UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) has set out a series of issues that it believes should be considered in any election manifesto that might form the basis of the UK’s future trade policy. The table below checks whether or not the Liberal Democrats’ Manifesto mentions these important elements explicitly or implicitly. Following that we offer a brief commentary on the treatment of trade policy in the manifesto.
The central plank of the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto is remaining in the single market and the customs union. This implies no change to current trade policies and hence little need to discuss them in the manifesto. Thus their coverage of trade policy is rather sparse. (more…)
Charlotte Humma May 18th, 2017
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: Brexit, Customs Union, FTA, Liberal Democrats, Negotiations, Single Market, tariffs, WTO
16 May 2017
Compiled by Fellows of UKTPO
Brexit will leave many areas of UK policy open to change. International trade policy is among the most important of these for UK prosperity and also among the most immediate because the status quo cannot simply be extended. This is the first in a series of blogs reporting what the major political parties say about trade policy in their 2017 manifestos, as they become available.
The UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) has set out a series of issues that it believes should be considered in any election manifesto that might form the basis of the UK’s future trade policy. The table below checks whether or not the Labour Party Manifesto mentions these important elements explicitly or implicitly. Following that we offer a brief commentary on the treatment of trade policy in the manifesto.
Charlotte Humma May 16th, 2017
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: Brexit, Environment, FTA, Labour, Manifesto, MRAs, social, Tarriff-free trade, Trade agreements, Transitional period, WTO
08 May 2017
L. Alan Winters CB, Professor of Economics and Director of UKTPO.
Signing a Free Trade Agreement is neither necessary nor sufficient for two countries (or groups of countries) to cooperate and enhance trade in research or higher education services. Doing so helps significantly, but needs to be followed up by detailed operational agreements at a lower level. (more…)
Charlotte Humma May 8th, 2017
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: Brexit, FTA, Higher Education
29 March 2017
New analysis shows that the nations of the UK are exposed to trade with the EU in quite different ways. If the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal the effects across regions will be quite different and this should therefore influence our trading priorities
Our Fellows have analysed trade data to examine the regional and sectoral impact of Brexit as well as the overall national impact.
Their findings, portrayed in a short video animation show that choosing trade priorities on the basis of aggregate UK data does not take into account the fact that the nations within the UK are exposed to trade with the EU in different ways.
Katherine Davies March 29th, 2017
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: Article 50, Brexit, Car Industry, Exports, Negotiations, Regions, Sectoral Deals
7 February 2017
Dr Emily Lydgate is a lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex and a fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory.
While the UK government White Paper on leaving the EU may be light on detail, it does suggest that securing UK environmental protections is near the bottom of its list of priorities, with a scant dedicated paragraph (8.41). Compare this with its complete section on worker’s rights; or compare to the country of Wales, which includes maintaining social and environmental standards as one of six Brexit priorities. (more…)
Tina Perrett February 7th, 2017
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: Article 50, Environment, FTA, Negotiations, Regulations, TTIP, USA, White Paper
16 January 2017
Guest blog by Katie Doherty, Policy and Operations Manager at The International Meat Trade Association
Though a significant challenge, Brexit presents an opportunity for the UK to devise its own import quota system. The current EU Tariff-rate Quote (TRQ) system is out of date and does not reflect the modern trade. For example, there are many frozen meat quotas that, as technology has developed, would be better suited as chilled meat quotas. Additionally, due to the exceedingly high EU MFN tariffs, it is generally not economically viable to import into the EU unless under a Tariff Rate Quota. (more…)
Charlotte Humma January 16th, 2017
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
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
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
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 September 2016
Michael Gasiorek is a Senior Lecturer in Economics, in the School of Business, Management and Economics and a member of UKTPO. He is also Managing Director of InterAnalysis, a University spin-out company focusing on trade policy.
There has been talk in the past week about a future free trade agreement (FTA) between the UK and Australia – and indeed Australia expressed interest in such an FTA soon after the Brexit referendum. For the UK government this seems to be an affirmation of the future possibilities for the UK, as and when it assumes full responsibility for trade policy post Brexit. In reality, our trade with Australia is relatively small and so the real value may be in the opportunity for the UK’s fledgling trade negotiators to get round the table with friendly faces and hammer out a low-stakes trade deal. (more…)
Charlotte Humma September 12th, 2016
Posted In: UK - Non EU
