UK- EU

Reaction to PM Theresa May’s Brexit speech

17 January 2017 Dr Peter Holmes (Reader in Economics and member of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex), reacts to Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on negotiating objectives for exiting the EU. The speech essentially confirms what we knew already, that sticking to the government’s red lines on the European Court of Justice and free movement would make joining the European Economic Area impossible and so we must leave the single market. […]

By Nick Phipps|2017-01-17T16:50:56+00:0017 January 2017|UK- EU|0 Comments

Brexit: an opportunity to develop a better import quota system

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 The current EU Tariff-rate Quote (TRQ) system is out of date and does not reflect the modern trade.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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2017-01-16T14:17:43+00:0016 January 2017|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|1 Comment

The Singapore and Ukraine Trade Deals: EU Trade Policy in a post-Brexit World

13 January 2017 Erika Szyszczak is a Professor of Law at the University of Sussex, Barrister and ADR Mediator at Littleton Chambers, Temple and a Fellow of the UKTPO. EU trade policy has been cast into shadow by the sharp focus on how the UK will conduct its future trade policy. But it will be in the interests of the EU and the UK to negotiate their future trading relationship as quickly and smoothly as possible. An issue for the EU will be the question of whether it will have exclusive competence to negotiate and ratify a trade deal with the UK. Or will it be forced to acknowledge that any future agreement will be a mixed agreement requiring, and risking, ratification by all 27 Member States? Two events at the end of 2016 have shed light on the legal and political issues facing the EU in negotiating a post-Brexit world. […]

By Nick Phipps|2017-01-13T13:27:08+00:0013 January 2017|UK- EU|1 Comment

Brexit and Scotland

21 December 2016 Alasdair Smith is an Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex, and is a member of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. In ‘Scotland’s place in Europe’, published on 20 December, the Scottish Government affirms its wish that the whole UK should remain in the European single market and the EU customs union. If, however, the UK leaves the customs union and is ejected from the single market, the Scottish government wants Scotland to remain in the single market. Commentators, by no means all of them instinctively unsympathetic to the Scottish Government’s case, have noted that the creation of a regulatory border between England and Scotland could be problematic. But the problems would not all be on the Scottish side. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-12-21T11:20:57+00:0021 December 2016|UK- EU|0 Comments

ETSexit? UK would be unwise to leave EU emissions market

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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-12-20T10:44:34+00:0020 December 2016|UK- EU|0 Comments

The curious absence of services trade

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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-12-14T16:05:17+00:0014 December 2016|UK- EU|0 Comments

A special deal for the car industry: how could it work?

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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-11-16T13:36:13+00:0016 November 2016|UK- EU|0 Comments

Negotiating the UK’s post-Brexit trade arrangements

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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-11-07T13:24:48+00:007 November 2016|UK- EU|0 Comments

A Brexit reality check in Stockholm

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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-10-19T13:21:14+01:0019 October 2016|UK- EU|0 Comments

Brexit and the regions: a lighter shade of dark

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. […]

By Nick Phipps|2016-10-14T13:22:44+01:0014 October 2016|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments

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