UK- EU

It’s time to talk digital trade

13 November 2020 Guest blog by Emily Jones, Associate Professor in Public Policy, and Beatriz Kira, Senior Research and Policy Officer, both at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. The Government’s new approach to digital trade deserves close scrutiny. It has described the new digital provisions in the UK-Japan agreement as going “far beyond the EU’s” to make the deal “truly cutting-edge”. Digital trade is a priority in negotiations with the US too. Earlier this week a spokesperson said the UK and US have already agreed provisions on digital trade and data that are “forward-leaning” and argued that this would make a UK deal attractive to the new Biden administration. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-11-13T16:25:09+00:0013 November 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|1 Comment

UKTPO Third Annual Conference – World Trade Policy: Back to the Future?

Conference programme 2 October 2020 The UKTPO held its third annual conference on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September. The conference, under the theme ‘World Trade Policy: Back to the Future?’, addressed two of the most important issues in trade policy today. Three presentations explored aspects of the as yet unknown UK trading regime after the end of the transition period, including the impact of uncertainty, the effect of tariff reversals, and the political economy of protection, respectively. Secondly, trade in the 21st century is ever more intertwined with other areas of public policy and, this year, two sessions explored the links between trade and the environment. Lastly, the conference concluded with a Roundtable discussion on trade and economic cohesion in the UK after Brexit. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-10-02T12:50:13+01:002 October 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments

Does Free Trade really work? The Good, Bad and Ugly of Trade

2 October 2020 This Trade Finance Talks podcast was first published on Trade Finance Global on 29 September 2020. Trade is a force for good, but with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the World Trade Organization facing its biggest challenges yet, and a turn towards protectionism in many economies, the current trade outlook is unsettling, and uncertain. The UK’s trading regime after the end of the transition period yields much uncertainty and potential tariff reversals in just a few months. In this episode of Trade Finance Talks, Deepesh Patel and Professor L. Alan Winters discuss the power of good trade policy, how trade negotiations are done, and how to mitigate the negative effects of trade. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-10-02T10:50:08+01:002 October 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments

Parliamentary Scrutiny of Trade Deals: How does the UK Measure Up?

Guest blog by Emily Jones, Associate Professor in Public Policy and Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme and Anna Sands, Research Officer of the Global Economic Governance Programme both at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. 30 September 2020 In the next few weeks Parliament will decide how much scrutiny it has over the UK’s future trade deals. The Trade Bill is currently in the House of Lords, and a series of amendments have been tabled that aim to strengthen Parliament’s role. As things stand, Parliament’s role will be minimal. The negotiation and ratification of international trade agreements falls under the Royal Prerogative – the making of international treaties is one of the few actions that Ministers can take without the approval of Parliament. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-09-30T08:56:16+01:0030 September 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|1 Comment

Tariff inversion in UK Freeports offers little opportunity for duty savings

28 July 2020 Peter Holmes is a Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex and Julia Magntorn Garrett is a Research Officer in Economics at the University of Sussex. Both are Fellows of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. The Department for International Trade (DIT) Freeports consultation document states duty inversion as one of the four core benefits of a Freeport: “If the duty on a finished product is lower than that on the component parts, a company could benefit by importing components duty free, manufacture the final product in the Freeport, and then pay the duty at the rate of the finished product when it enters the UK’s domestic market.” […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-07-28T09:52:05+01:0028 July 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|24 Comments

The case for more flexibility in post-Brexit immigration rules

14 July 2020 Alasdair Smith is an Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and is a member of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. There were no surprises in yesterday’s government announcement of the post-Brexit ‘points-based’ immigration rules (except for those who thought that a provision for health and care might actually cover social care workers). The government’s stated objectives are “flexibility and control over our borders”. However, an essential feature of the points-based scheme is that it is not actually operated at the border, but in the jobs market through the rules that non-UK employees must satisfy in order to take up a job offer in the UK. EU citizens will continue to have visa-free entry to the UK: the change for them is in their right to take up employment in the UK. (In all of this, Irish citizens are treated the same as UK citizens, and indeed EU citizens in Ireland can enter the UK without passport checks.) […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-07-14T13:54:53+01:0014 July 2020|UK- EU|1 Comment

The Japan-UK FTA: Three fundamental issues to consider when assessing its value

8 July 2020 Dr Minako Morita-Jaeger, International Trade Policy Consultant and Fellow, UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex. Japan and the UK launched the Japan-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation on 9th June. The two governments agreed to “work quickly to make the new partnership as ambitious, high standard, and mutually beneficial as the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement”.[1] As negotiations accelerate, there are three fundamental issues to consider when assessing the deal. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-07-08T08:23:08+01:008 July 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|1 Comment

Made in England? Why the UK Government wants Korean and Japanese goods to have same trade benefits as home made products

3 July 2020 A car constructed entirely of Korean components could be classed as Made in Britain under proposals put forward by the UK Government to the EU, our new analysis reveals. As part of its negotiations over a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the UK is calling on the EU to allow it to escape EU tariffs on products made with imported parts from any country in the world that both the EU and the UK have FTAs with. The UK Government is requesting that goods using inputs imported from third parties should be treated as if they had been made in the UK so long as the two relevant FTAs have equivalent rules of origin. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-07-03T09:28:26+01:003 July 2020|UK- EU|0 Comments

The EU Global Trade Review: New Legal Tools for International Trade

29 June 2020 Erika Szyszczak is Professor Emerita and a Fellow of the UKTPO, University of Sussex. In response to the global economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic the European Commission has launched a major review of EU trade policy. The first act was to launch an inclusive online public consultation on a number of themes: Building a resilient and sustainable EU economy after the coronavirus Reforming the WTO Creating global trade opportunities for businesses and in particular SMEs Maximising the contribution of trade policy to addressing key global challenges: climate change, sustainable development, the digital transition Strengthening of trade and investment relationships with key trading partners Improving the level playing field and protecting EU business and citizens […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-06-29T11:10:12+01:0029 June 2020|UK- EU|0 Comments

A Trade Bargain to Secure Supplies of Medical Goods

12 June 2020 Simon Evenett is Professor of International Trade and Economic Development at the University of St. Gallen, and coordinator of the Global Trade Alert. He is an Associate Fellow of the UKTPO. L. Alan Winters CB is Professor of Economics and Director of the UKTPO. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted trade policy, along with everything else. As nations scrambled this year to source medical supplies – equipment, drugs and personal protective equipment – 89 governments imposed 154 restrictions on exports. What is much less well known is that 154 reforms easing imports of these goods were implemented by 104 nations too. It took a pandemic for some policymakers to grasp that taxing imported soap makes no sense. As well as up-ending trade in the medical goods, these policy shifts have the unintended consequence of providing the foundation for a new trade bargain between nations over medical supplies. As a sizeable and reliable exporter of these goods this matters for the UK and comes at the time when British ministers and officials want to showcase an independent trade policy. It is at times like these—when the big beasts of the world trading system are at loggerheads—that, traditionally, the free [...]

By Nick Phipps|2020-06-12T11:04:29+01:0012 June 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments