Trade policy
Is Labour selling the UK a Turkey?
12 April 2018
A future UK-EU customs union should not be ruled out. While it would place some constraints on a future UK independent trade policy, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Will the unity of the 27 crack?
15 March 2018
Some British politicians believe that the 27 will divide during the Brexit trade negotiations, because of their differing economic interests. But disagreements between the 27 are minor, thanks to Theresa May's red lines.
Brexit and rules of origin: Why free trade agreements ≠ free trade
13 March 2018
Without an EU-UK customs union British exporters will face a new barrier to trade: rules of origin. No amount of positive thinking and innovative solutions can eliminate this problem.
The Ukraine model for Brexit: Is dissociation just like association?
27 February 2018
Some argue that a Ukraine-style association agreement offers the UK a viable model for its future relationship with the EU, combining both ‘sovereignty’ and close economic ties.
Britain's services firms can't defy gravity, alas
05 February 2018
Britain's specialism in traded services, some of which can be delivered electronically, has led Brexiters to claim that the country's trade will inevitably unmoor itself from Europe. In fact, Britain is not about to enter a "post-geography trading world".
'Canada', 'Norway' or something in between?
26 January 2018
The EU will reject's Britain's request for a bespoke partnership based on regulatory alignment. The UK will have to put up with a Canada-style deal, unless it shifts its red lines.
Holding out hope for a half-way Brexit house
22 January 2018
The UK is considering 'managed divergence' from EU rules, which the 27 will reject. A better strategy would be to remain in the customs union and single market for goods.
Bulletin Issue 118 - February/March 2018
22 January 2018
- Poland’s prime minister: New face, same old tune?, Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
- Holding out hope for a half-way Brexit house, John Springford, Sam Lowe
- From 14 points to 280 characters: Trump vs Wilson, Ian Bond
Of transition and trade deals
16 January 2018
The UK will not be able to replicate the EU’s free trade agreements ready for March 30th 2019. The only solution is to ask the EU for help.
Conference report: How to save the EU
15 January 2018
50 leading economists, political scientists and experts on the EU considered the forces undermining the Union, and how Europe should respond to them.
UK + EU = Canada+?
01 December 2017
A post-Brexit deal along the lines of the EU-Canada trade agreement would do a lot of damage to the British economy. Can the UK hope for anything better?
Bulletin Issue 117 - December 2017/January 2018
29 November 2017
- Ten predictions for the Brexit talks, Charles Grant
- All is not well in the Visegrad economies, Simon Tilford
- PESCO: Paper tiger, paper tanks?, Sophia Besch
All is not well in the Visegrad economies
29 November 2017
On the face of it the Visegrad – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – appear to be doing quite well economically. But there are problems behind the headline growth figures.
Trump's trade policy: Separating the normal from the dangerous
10 November 2017
Some of Trump's trade actions are traditionally American. Others threaten the future of the World Trade Organisation. Europeans should look past his insults and prepare a response.
Unfreezing TTIP: Why a transatlantic trade pact still makes strategic sense
11 May 2017
Despite concerns about Trump's views on trade, a transatlantic deal would bring foreign policy benefits. If only Europe could get its act together.
Trump, trade and the EU: Two wrongs don't make a right
23 February 2017
The US will not gain by resorting to protectionism. If it does so, the EU should stay calm, listen when US criticism is justified, and make its first priority the defence of the WTO process and the rule of law.
The end of the transatlantic trade consensus?
21 February 2017
Trump, Brexit and European scepticism about TTIP spell the end of transatlantic leadership on trade.
Crisis of capitalism? Perhaps, but don't blame it on globalisation
10 February 2017
Globalisation did not force governments to adopt policies that divided their countries, exacerbated inequality and hit social mobility. Many of them did those things by choice.
Britain's economy: Enjoy the calm before the storm
26 January 2017
Britain's economy has not weathered the Brexit storm. But the calm before the storm has lasted longer than many economists expected.
What does Theresa May's speech tell us about how Britain will leave the EU?
17 January 2017
Theresa May has decided on a hard Brexit, putting sovereignty ahead of economics. She thinks the negotiations will take only two years, but they will take longer.