About Emily Lydgate

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So far Emily Lydgate has created 52 blog entries.

How to deliver a UK-EU “re-set” that works

Debates about deepening UK-EU relations, including in the current ‘re-set’ negotiations,  often focus on what will the UK gain versus what it must concede.  Yet, what constitutes a win or a loss for the UK is complex – and if Brexit has taught us anything, it’s that people have diverse, and sometimes polarized, views. This is why an effective re-set of UK-EU relations requires thinking about an aspect of negotiations that is often overlooked, or viewed as a technical consideration: how the UK implements the re-set domestically. More specifically, the UK needs to address the democratic deficit in UK treaty-making, and establish bespoke arrangements on EU regulatory alignment, now and in the future. The surest way to future-proof a closer relationship with the EU is to create a sense that the UK public, and particularly those affected by regulation, have a say in this decision. The importance of domestic implementation Despite its renowned tradition of direct democracy, Switzerland aligns its regulations with the EU across numerous sectors. For example, it recently concluded an EU-Swiss Common Food Safety Area, in which it agreed to align with EU food law across a wide range of areas. At first glance, this decision may [...]

By |2025-11-26T11:04:29+00:0026 November 2025|Blog, International Trade, UK- EU|0 Comments
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The CPTPP does not prevent the UK from aligning its agri-food regulations with the EU.

One reason the UK Government wanted to join a trade agreement consisting of Pacific Rim countries, the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), was to prevent any current and future UK Governments, from undertaking regulatory alignment with the EU. As Lord Frost explained in 2021, ‘…. to do trade agreements with other countries [i.e. CPTPP] you need to have control of your own agri-food and SPS [Sanitary and Phytosanitary] rules”. A UK-EU SPS agreement, which the Labour government has promised to pursue, would likely result in at least some alignment of regulation in SPS areas: human, animal and plant life and health. In these areas, the UK would lose some control over its rules. So, can the CPTPP prevent the UK from concluding an Agreement with the EU? We argue that it cannot. New Zealand conclusively proves that it is indeed possible to be a CPTPP party and also have an EU veterinary agreement. Its EU veterinary agreement reduces the incidence of border checks in a few areas on animal products. However, such a light agreement (New Zealand, which exports few products to the EU and from 18,000 kilometres away) would hardly resolve the border barriers facing UK farmers. So [...]

By , |2024-12-17T11:01:44+00:0017 December 2024|Blog, UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments
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Why discussion of Trade Policy matters in the General Election

30 May 2024 - Ingo Borchert is Deputy Director of the UKTPO, a Member of the Leadership Group of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP) and a Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex. Michael Gasiorek is Co-Director of the UKTPO, Co-Director of the CITP and Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex. Emily Lydgate is Co-Director of the UKTPO and Professor of Environmental Law at the University of Sussex. L. Alan Winters is Co-Director of the CITP and former Director of the UKTPO. A general election is underway, and the parties are making various promises and commitments to attract voters, and both the main parties – the Conservatives and Labour – are keen to persuade the country that they have a credible plan. Now it might just be that the authors of this piece are trade nerds, but one key aspect of economic policy has not yet been clearly articulated, or even mentioned – and that is international trade policy. In our view, this is a mistake. As a hugely successful open economy, international trade constitutes a significant share of economic activity, supports over 6 million jobs in the UK, spurs innovation, and enhances consumption choices. [...]

By , , , |2025-01-15T12:06:48+00:0030 May 2024|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|6 Comments
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Do labour and environmental provisions in trade agreements lead to better social and environmental outcomes in practice?

13 December 2023 James Harrison is Professor in the School of Law at the University of Warwick. Emily Lydgate is Professor in Environmental Law at the University of Sussex and Deputy Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO).  Ioannis Papadakis is a researcher at the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy (CITP) and a Research Fellow in Economics. Sunayana Sasmal currently serves as a Research Fellow in International Trade Law at the UKTPO. Mattia di Ubaldo is Fellow of the UKTPO and Research Fellow in Economics of European Trade Policies. L. Alan Winters is Founding Director of the UKTPO,  Co-Director of the CITP and Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex. In answering this important question, different disciplinary approaches have emerged as have a range of different and sometimes contradictory findings. At the moment, scholars from the different disciplines are not talking to each other about the implications of this. The authors of this blog suggest it is vitally important that they begin to do so.   Trade agreements around the world increasingly include environmental and labour provisions. Their presence attests to policymakers’ recognition that trade agreements cannot simply focus on economic issues. They should also address environmental and social [...]

By , , , , |2025-01-15T12:35:09+00:0013 December 2023|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|3 Comments
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The UK in a World of Green Industrial Strategies

13 March 2023 Emily Lydgate is Reader (Senior Associate Professor) in Environmental Law at University of Sussex School of Law, Politics and Sociology and Deputy Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory The UKTPO is pleased to re-publish this TaPP Network Workshop Summary, an output of a TaPP workshop in January with speakers Geraldo Vidigal (University of Amsterdam), Emily Lydgate (UKTPO/CITP), Ilaria Espa (USI/WTI), and Greg Messenger (TaPP/University of Bristol). Rather than a blog, this note summarises views of panel participants and the authors. It provides useful insights on the latest developments in this area and policy recommendations for the UK in navigating the new subsidies race between the US and the EU. […]

By |2025-01-29T15:39:36+00:0013 March 2023|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments
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Is the golden age of Free Trade Agreements over?

7 December 2022 Emily Lydgate, Reader in Environmental Law at University of Sussex and Deputy Director of the UKTPO [1] Figures from the World Trade Organization suggest that the negotiation of new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) peaked in 2008, and has since declined.[2] Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has disavowed FTAs. The UK emerged post-Brexit as an enthusiastic advocate, responsible for much of the 2020 outlying peak in WTO FTA notifications. However, even in the UK, the Trade Secretary recently said: ‘I would like us to move away from the DIT being seen as the Department for Free Trade Agreements and back to the Department for International Trade.’ Having created a so-called spaghetti bowl of FTAs, are the wealthy countries that have driven most FTA negotiations[3] finally running out of noodles? […]

By |2025-07-17T16:26:51+01:007 December 2022|Blog|1 Comment
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Finding the benefits of Brexit: food law and the UK’s emerging regulatory identity

10 March 2022 Emily Lydgate is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex and Chloe Anthony is a Doctoral Researcher and Tutor at the University of Sussex Law School  From chlorinated chicken to sausage wars, food law has been highly contested in defining the UK’s post-Brexit direction. Not only is it seen as vulnerable to deregulation through trade agreements, the UK has faced new trade barriers with the EU and between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. These have concerned regulatory issues and have had an enormous impact on food trade. While much attention has rightly focused on Northern Ireland, departure from the EU’s regulatory union has provided a steep challenge in the rest of Great Britain, too. Food law is a devolved matter and Scotland has passed legislation setting out its intent to continue aligning with EU law, including for food law. […]

By , |2025-07-18T09:45:11+01:0010 March 2022|UK- EU|2 Comments
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BP 64 – UK Policy on Carbon Leakage

Download Briefing Paper 64 Briefing Paper 64 – December 2021 Camilla Jensen, Michael Gasiorek and Emily Lydgate Key points Introduction The problem of carbon transfers and leakage in the UK context Focus, assumptions & policy scenarios The UK’s own ETS after Brexit – how does it work? Identifying UK industries at risk of carbon leakage Potential implications of a UK BCA and the EU’s CBAM Policy implications Conclusion Key points The UK, as one of the most highly developed countries in the world, is also among the top destinations of carbon imports. A Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) involves extending domestic carbon pricing by introducing carbon-related charges on imported products, typically in high emitting sectors which are those at risk of carbon leakage. There is the possibility that if the EU introduces a CBAM and the UK does not, the UK could become more of a target for carbon-intensive trade from third countries. The EU ETS allows for other schemes to be linked. Both the UK and EU are planning ETS changes, so unless the two systems continue to mirror each other, the earlier that the two systems can be linked the more straightforward the process will be. Four [...]

By , , |2025-12-17T16:22:55+00:0015 December 2021|Comments Off on BP 64 – UK Policy on Carbon Leakage
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Briefing Paper 64 – UK POLICY ON CARBON LEAKAGE

The idea of introducing a Border Carbon Adjustment has been raised by various countries and major trading partners of the UK, most notably the EU, with its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. This Briefing Paper seeks to address the possible implications of a border carbon adjustment mechanism for the UK. We examine the potential impact on specific industries and consider implications of cooperation with the EU on ETS schemes and BCAs, the pros and cons to the UK of applying such a new type of policy tool and for maintaining trade, investment and job stability in the UK, and with trading partners, and the extent to which it might counter the problem of carbon leakage. Read Briefing Paper 64: UK POLICY ON CARBON LEAKAGE

By , , |2024-11-20T13:03:10+00:001 December 2021|Briefing Papers|0 Comments
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BP 60 – CPTPP and agri-food regulation: Crossing the EU-exit rubicon?

Download Briefing Paper 60 Briefing Paper 60 – July 2021 Emily Lydgate and Michael Gasiorek Key Points Introduction Does CPTPP threaten UK food standards? Access to the regulatory/risk assessment process Differences between the CPTPP SPS Chapter and existing UK FTAs Does CPTPP accession prevent the UK from agreeing to continued regulatory alignment with the EU? Conclusion Key Points This Briefing Paper is part of a pair of papers that looks at the strategic choice to accede to CPTPP as part of a larger symbolic move away from the EU and its regulatory model. This paper considers CPTPP and UK agri-food regulation. Briefing Paper 61 examines the impact of CPTPP on UK digital trade. Acceding to CPTPP underscores that the UK needs to decide – and defend – its approach to agri-food standards domestically. Signing up to particular regulatory principles in any given FTA (in this case the CPTPP) may constrain domestic policy, and also what the UK can subsequently agree to with other partners in future FTAs. Failing to adequately understand or anticipate the interests of CPTPP Parties could prove detrimental to upholding the UK’s strategic objectives, including maintaining current levels of protection in food standards and safety. [...]

By , |2025-12-12T11:34:39+00:0028 July 2021|Comments Off on BP 60 – CPTPP and agri-food regulation: Crossing the EU-exit rubicon?
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