Research
The UK and Europe: Brexit, rules of origin and barriers to trade
09 April 2018
E!Sharp
Where is the phone in your hand actually from? Designed in California, assembled in China, it says. But what about the components: the battery, the screen, the processor?
India in no 'rush' to sign a post-Brexit trade deal and will tell Britain to accept more migrants
06 April 2018
Business Insider
Writing for Business Insider on Thursday, trade expert Sam Lowe warned that countries will make tricky and in some cases unacceptable demands in free trade deal negotiations with post-Brexit Britain. "When it comes down to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the most valuable lesson we learn from our first post-Brexit forays into the world is that, when lofty free trade ambition runs up against domestic political reality, the UK is really quite 'European' after all," the Centre for European Reform research fellow wrote.
Brexit Britain looks to Commonwealth 2.0
06 April 2018
EurActiv
“Some of the demands we’ll probably hear about will be on things like agriculture quotas, such as quotas for their orange-sellers,” says Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, of South Africa’s likely demands.
There’s little to lose from exploring sunlit uplands Down Under
06 April 2018
The Times
The long and the short of this negotiation, Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform said, is that Australia will function as a test case for the US, making American-style demands with less market power, teasing out what concessions Brexit Britain is willing to make.
'UK ignorance is harming Brexit' - expert demands Brexiteers 'wise up' about EU Parliament
05 April 2018
The Express
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, from the Centre for European Reform said: “British ignorance of the EU institutions is harming its own interests. “British ignorance of how they operate is clearly damaging the UK’s chances of success in the negotiations. “The British need to wise up about the EU and its institutions, after all it could make the difference between getting a good deal, a bad deal, or no deal.”
Why Britain's vision for post-Brexit trade deals is probably an illusion
05 April 2018
Business Insider
Is the United Kingdom actually a global bastion of free trade and liberalism? The honest answer is that we just don’t know yet.
BBC Newsnight: British EU ignorance is harming UK interests - Viewsnight
04 April 2018
In this Viewsnight, Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska of the CER argues that if the British government doesn't pay more attention to the European Parliament, it could get a bad Brexit deal.
UK's tortured approach to EU defence takes new twist
04 April 2018
EurActiv
"The irony is that the EU is getting serious about defence just as the UK is leaving,” says Sophia Besch, a defence expert at the Centre for European Reform. The UK’s partnership paper on defence, which set out the May government’s position on future EU-UK relations, published last autumn, was received “with glee in Brussels because it was so supportive,” Besch told EURACTIV.
Industry planning jobs cull to offset Brexit
31 March 2018
The Guardian
“The government’s problem is that, as it becomes clear that the most we can hope for is a free trade agreement with the EU, more and more businesses reliant on pan-European supply chains will be forced into considering the viability of their UK operations,” said Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform.
Spy poisoning reaction: Russia refuses to back down as it expels diplomats in tit-for-tat row
30 March 2018
The Independent
"They have blamed the UK, Ukraine, the Czechs, Kremlin critic Bill Browder, the Portland Down weapons research facility and poisoned pizzas," said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and a former British diplomat in Moscow. "They have not suggested they lost control of the stuff, and I find that significant in itself."
How Theresa May will navigate the perilous road to Brexit
29 March 2018
Bloomberg
As Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, puts it: “It only requires one red line to move.” The government says it can still strike deals on services and innovative new industries, and the hardliners accept this is the best Brexit they can get.
Trade expert suggests UK go for 'BIGGER RUPTURE' from EU to reap full Brexit benefits
29 March 2018
The Express
Brexit Britain could seek a "bigger rupture" from the European Union's trading system in order to reap the full benefits of being able to do business independently, Sam Lowe, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform said.
Brexit financial services deal will be difficult
28 March 2018
EurActiv
The industry has accepted that so-called “passporting” rights will not be possible after Britain leaves the EU. The concept of “equivalence” has been mooted as a solution but even agreeing to that will be difficult.
Brexit, one year to go: Labour could still shape the terms of Britain’s exit deal
28 March 2018
The Independent
We cannot be sure that the EU-27 would be prepared to negotiate a customs union, although Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform thinks its leaders are sympathetic to the idea.
CER podcast: Brexit negotiations: Will the unity of the 27 crack?
28 March 2018
Sophia Besch speaks to Beth Oppenheim and Sam Lowe about what to expect during the second part of Brexit negotiations – will the future relationship talks bring out different political and economic interests among the EU-27?
Channel 4 News: What are the prospects for UK trade after Brexit?
28 March 2018
A year tomorrow Britain formally leaves the European Union, Sam Lowe of the CER joined Gary Gibon to disuss the deals the UK could do with countries across the world and what will they want from us in return.
Europäische Verteidigungspolitik: Jetzt geht’s um Resultate!
27 March 2018
Peace Lab
Ob die Gemeinsame Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik der EU wirklich vorankommt, hängt von der neuen Bundesregierung ab.
Brexit goes to space
26 March 2018
Financial Times
As Sophia Besch of the Centre for European Reform neatly explains, non-EU countries are, in principle, allowed to access the encrypted Galileo system. Norway and the US are in (protracted) talks to do so. Britain should have a decent chance after Brexit, having developed much of the Galileo encryption technology.
Made in Britain: What does it mean for trade after Brexit?
26 March 2018
BBC News
There are significant costs, administrative and legal, for businesses that have to prove the origin of goods. In some cases, that could even mean that it's cheaper just to pay a low tariff than to go through the bureaucracy involved in getting an exemption. "There are steps that can be taken to mitigate the costs," says Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform. "But outside the customs union you cannot eliminate those extra costs entirely."
A new Cold War with Russia? No, It's worse than that
26 March 2018
The New York Times
Ian Bond, a former British diplomat in Moscow who is now director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London, said Russia’s often implausible denials had made it “like the boy who cried wolf.” “If you keep putting forward crazy conspiracy theories, eventually people are going to ask whether what you are saying is just another crazy Russian denial,” he said.