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Trade policy animated videos
Our animated videos help to explain the effects of trade policy. This video explains direct and indirect ways of trading services internationally, and looks at the implications for trade policy, particularly trade agreements.
For more trade explainers, visit our animations page.
Briefing Paper 8 – BREXIT AND GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
This briefing paper looks at some of the legal issues that will affect the UK’s public procurement laws and policies following Brexit. When the UK leaves the EU, it is unlikely to be able to simply rollover its current procurement coverage under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. However, this opens up the possibility of pursuing horizontal policy objectives, such as promoting SME or green public procurement, which is possible under the WTO GPA obligations, but will also need to comply with other multilateral rules. Brexit could offer the UK the possibility to craft a procurement system flexible enough to incorporate the devolved procurement legislation, under the supervision of the Competition and Markets Authority. Such an integrated approach would be beneficial for value for money, legal clarity, and enforcement. It would help to ensure conformity to WTO commitments, while acting as a counterweight against fragmentation. Read Briefing Paper 8 – BREXIT AND GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Briefing Paper 9 – WILL BREXIT HARM UK AND GLOBAL WINE MARKETS?
The UK has accounted for a major share of the world’s wine imports for centuries, and wine currently accounts for more than one-third of UK alcohol consumption. Its withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) therefore will affect not only UK wine consumers, producers, traders, distributors and retailers but also suppliers of those imports. Based on a model of the world’s wine markets, the impacts of various alternative Brexit scenarios are determined through to 2025, involving adjustments to UK and EU27 bilateral tariffs on wine imports and any changes to UK income growth and the value of the pound over the period of adjustment. The research finds that in the main scenario considered, for consumers in the UK the price of wine in 2025 is 22% higher in local currency terms than it would be without Brexit, the volume of UK wine consumption is 28% lower, and the value of UK imports is 27% lower because of Brexit. Such a sales reduction in the UK would be a blow to participants in UK wine bottling, transporting, storing, wholesaling and retailing businesses, as well as restaurants and pubs. Read Briefing Paper 9 – WILL BREXIT HARM UK AND GLOBAL WINE MARKETS?
Briefing Paper 10 – CAN A UK-EU FREE TRADE AREA PRESERVE THE BENEFITS OF THE SINGLE MARKET AND THE CUSTOMS UNION IN SOME SECTORS?
The EU Customs Union and Single Market created a significant volume of trade between the UK and the EU and stimulated the development of European value chains.The UK government has stated its intention to leave the Single Market and Customs Union and this remains the position of the leadership of both main political parties. Yet both enable a degree of integration far exceeding that attainable through any simple tariff-free Free Trade Area (FTA). In this briefing paper we examine the possibilities for maintaining some of these benefits in key sectors. WTO rules are drafted and applied in such a way that the UK and the EU27 could design a WTO-consistent trade agreement that goes some way towards preserving current trading conditions in a subset of sectors. We discuss how this might be achieved and also some of the limitations that such an approach entails. Read Briefing Paper 10 – AN A UK-EU FREE TRADE AREA PRESERVE THE BENEFITS OF THE SINGLE MARKET AND THE CUSTOMS UNION IN SOME SECTORS?
