17 February 2023
L. Alan Winters is Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy, Professor of Economics at University of Sussex Business School and Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory.
Given the recent discussions about future UK-EU relations and the review of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) after two years, I have started reading the Brexit literature again. A recent paper – ‘What impact is Brexit having on the UK economy?’ by Graham Gudgin, Julian Jessop and Harry Western (GJW) from October 2022 argues there is no hard evidence of harm and that studies that claim to find harm are biased and/or incompetent! In this blog, I consider a few of their points in four areas. (more…)
Cosmo Rana-Iozzi February 17th, 2023
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Brexit, Brexit dividend, Brexit uncertainty, EU, EU Single Market, European Union, Frictionless trade, TCA, trade, Trade agreements, Trade and Cooperation Agreement, trade data, UK economy
22 August 2022
Peter Holmes is a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Emeritus Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex Business School. Guillermo Larbalestier is Research Assistant in International Trade at the University of Sussex and Fellow of the UKTPO.
After time in the shade, Freeports are back in the news. The policy has been embraced and a subject of discourse by both PM candidates, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, as part of their “benefits from Brexit” claims and “levelling up” strategies. There has also recently been concern by some commentators that Freeports risk becoming ‘Charter Cities’. (more…)
Cosmo Rana-Iozzi August 22nd, 2022
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU, Uncategorised
Tags: Brexit, Brexit dividend, Conservatives, free ports, free trade, Free Trade Agreement, free zones, Tory leadership
18 July 2022
Michael Gasiorek is Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex Business School.
Boris Johnson was elected on the slogan and promise of ‘Get Brexit Done’. It is perhaps somewhat ironic, then, to see disagreement between the contenders to succeed him as to whether Brexit has actually yet been done. (more…)
Cosmo Rana-Iozzi July 18th, 2022
Posted In: UK - Non EU, UK- EU
Tags: Brexit, Brexit dividend, Brexit means Brexit, Brexit uncertainty, Conservatives, Tory leadership, Trade agreements, trade policy
9 July 2018
L. Alan Winters CB is Professor of Economics and Director of the Observatory.
The (three page) Chequers Statement is a remarkable political sticking plaster. Coupled with some robust politics it appeared to have kept the Cabinet unified for a few more days, although now even that goal has been missed.
This note is not about the politics, but about the technical aspects of the Statement which is replete with ambiguities and wishful thinking (or worse). The White Paper, if it arrives on time, may resolve some of these ambiguities, but that is far from clear, given the political imperatives that Mrs May feels must guide her actions. (more…)
Charlotte Humma July 9th, 2018
Posted In: UK- EU
Tags: Brexit dividend, Chequers Statement, Common Rulebook, Customs, Facilitated Customs Arrangement, Free Trade Agreement, FTA
