Single market, competition & trade

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Ditchley conference report: The politics of climate change

02 February 2022
Climate change is as much a political problem as a technological one, and the CER's annual economics conference focused on ways to overcome inertia, denial and myopia.
Why big business may learn to love EU competition policy

Why big business may learn to love EU competition policy

01 February 2022
Big multinationals sometimes criticise the EU’s competition policy, which is more aggressive than America’s. But in the long term, Brussels’ approach could prove more balanced and predictable than Washington’s.

How the Digital Markets Act will challenge consumers

24 January 2022
The European Parliament’s proposals to tame big tech will challenge consumers. Some of these proposals will promote innovation – but law-makers should drop proposals which will stifle it.

No pain, no gain? The Digital Markets Act

10 January 2022
The EU's upcoming rules for big tech will degrade some digital services to improve long-term competition and innovation. The trade-off is justified – but law-makers must keep consumers on-side.
The cost of Brexit: October 2021

The cost of Brexit: October 2021

13 December 2021
In October 2021, UK goods trade was 15.7 per cent, or £12.6 billion, lower than it would have been if the UK had stayed in the EU’s single market and customs union.

The three deaths of EU-UK data adequacy

Zach Meyers, Camino Mortera-Martinez
15 November 2021
European and British businesses can still freely transfer personal data between the EU and UK. This situation has spared both sides disruption – but is unlikely to last.

Opening Pandora's Box: What the EU-UK trade deal means for trade and conditionality

Sam Lowe
13 October 2021
The EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement includes world-leading sustainability commitments.

Leave your phone at home: Why EU roaming charges will only increase for UK consumers

20 September 2021
Will the end of free EU roaming make the UK mobile market fairer, as some economists claim? Don’t bet on it.

Driving uncertainty: Labour rights in the gig economy

10 August 2021
The European Commission should treat competition policy as a tool to improve the rights of ‘gig economy’ workers – not a hindrance to that goal.

The cost of Brexit: May 2021

21 July 2021
The Centre for European Reform estimates that leaving the single market and customs union has reduced UK trade in goods by £10 billion or 13.5 per cent in May 2021.  

Reality bytes: The limits of transatlantic digital co-operation

13 July 2021
The EU and the US plan to boost co-operation on digital policy. They should not prioritise regulatory harmonisation, and instead work on areas where mutual compromise is more realistic.

Can the EU set a global rulebook for Big Tech?

01 June 2021
The EU is angling to set a rulebook for digital markets which could be adopted around the world. To achieve this, its draft regulations need improvement.

The US and the Northern Ireland Protocol: Time to walk the walk

Sam Lowe
07 May 2021
The US wants the UK to diverge from EU food hygiene rules and to prioritise political and economic stability in Northern Ireland. But what if the UK can’t do both?

Taming 'Big Tech': How the Digital Markets Act should identify gatekeepers

04 May 2021
The European Commission is rushing to impose new rules on large digital platforms. A more careful approach would benefit European digital businesses.

The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism: How to make it work for developing countries

Sam Lowe
22 April 2021
The EU should exempt developing country exports from its CBAM to avoid unfairly penalising countries that have contributed a much smaller share of cumulative global carbon emissions.

The US proposals on digital services taxes and minimum tax rates: How the EU should respond

15 April 2021
OECD members are negotiating a global digital services tax and a global minimum corporate tax. EU member-states should support recent US proposals to conclude the talks.

The cost of Brexit: February 2021

13 April 2021
We estimate that leaving the single market and customs union had reduced UK trade by 5 per cent by February 2021. That is on top of a 10 per cent hit to trade between the referendum and leaving the single market.

Bulletin issue 137 - April/May 2021

Sam Lowe, Camino Mortera-Martinez, Christian Odendahl, Katherine Pye, John Springford
29 March 2021

The cost of Brexit, January 2021: The end of transition edition

12 March 2021
The first of a new CER series provides estimates for the effect of Brexit on UK trade – both before and after the end of the transition period.