Through its membership of the EU, the UK is currently party to just over 80 trade agreements (31 in force, and over 50 partly in place). Outside the EU Customs Union, the UK will be free to negotiate its own trade arrangements with any country or trading bloc, including the EU. But which to pursue first? And how will the complex inter-relationships and sequencing of negotiations affect the overall results?
Our Trade Partnerships section provides material that delves into the key issues surrounding the UK’s future place in the international trading system.
Commentary
The UK and Switzerland jointly announced that they would begin exploratory work this year on negotiating a “modernised and enhanced” Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two countries also announced that they would try and conclude a mutual recognition agreement on financial services by the end of 2023. We consider some of the issues. Some quirky […]
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The consequences of the war in Ukraine will be far reaching because the conflict is acting as a catalyst for deep-seated shifts in global economic governance, and trade in particular. Nearly fifty days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the costs of war are escalating at every level. The death toll, difficult to determine for a variety […]
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With COP-26 starting today and one month to go until the 12th WTO ministerial conference, the trade-climate nexus is under the spotlight yet again. We will host a panel to discuss these questions. You can register here. In the meantime, here is a quick overview of some of the questions by way of background. We […]
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In our post entitled Brexit and the Irish border issue dated 9 February 2018, we wrote: The Issue of Brexit and the Irish border – how to avoid creating some form of border within the island of Ireland – has emerged as one of the most difficult in the entire Brexit negotiation. Three and a […]
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Agreement at last After more than four years of seemingly interminable negotiation following the United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the European Union, the parties finally concluded a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) at the very last practicable moment, on Christmas Eve 2020. Ratification was rushed through both Houses of the UK Parliament on […]
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After long and arduous negotiations, the European Union and the United Kingdom signed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on 24 December 2020. The agreement establishes the basis for the relationship between the two parties from 1 January 2021 onwards. The TCA largely corresponds to what we projected close to 3 years ago, given the […]
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What could the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr. mean for US trade policy? Trade policy did not feature highly in the run up to the election (in contrast to 2016). And the immediate focus of the Biden administration is likely to be on dealing with Covid-19 and recovering from it. Its “Build back better” […]
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The UK took a first step in its post-Brexit Free Trade Agreement (FTA) agenda by signing the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on 23rd October. The UK government immediately proclaimed the deal ‘a historic Free Trade Agreement’. Although a detailed analysis will have to be carried based on the newly released legal text, we […]
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The clock continues to tick down one negotiations between UK and the EU. Bot parties are trying to bridge their differences in order to finalise an agreement on trade that will take effect from 31 December 2020, when the UK leaves the EU’s single market and common customs regime. “No deal” still remains a prospect, […]
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Brexit: Be careful what you wish for There now seems every likelihood that the United Kingdom and the European Union will fail to reach a formal and definitive agreement on future trade and economic relations to take effect from 1 January 2021. Thus at the end of the agreed “transition period” on December 31, […]
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