Download Briefing Paper 55 Briefing Paper 55 – March 2021 Erika Szyszczak Key Points Introduction Current Trade Disputes Review and Enhancement of International Trade Dispute Mechanisms Conclusion Key Points The EU has adopted a new trade policy based upon a model of Open Strategic Autonomy. One aspect of the policy is to enhance enforcement powers where there is a breach of a Trade Agreement and also a proposal to enact a general anti-coercion instrument. The EU is committed to including sustainable development, environmental and labour protection goals in EU trade agreements. These new approaches to trade are found in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) between the EU and the UK To enhance the enforcement of international trade agreements the EU has introduced the role of the Chief Trade Enforcement Officer. The Enforcement Regulation 654/2014 has been amended by Regulation 2021/167. A new Directorate in DG Trade for enforcement has been created to enhance market access and SME, with the establishment under the Access2Markets Programme of a single-entry point for complaints from EU stakeholders and businesses on trade barriers on foreign markets and violations of sustainable trade commitments in EU trade agreements. Until the WTO Appellate Structure is [...]

Download Briefing Paper 54 Briefing Paper 54 – January 2021 Emily Lydgate, Erika Szyszczak, L. Alan Winters, Chloe Anthony Key Points Introduction The Constitutional Structure of the TCA Dispute Settlement The Level Playing Field Subsidies Labour and Environmental Standards Precaution Climate Remedial Measures Rebalancing: Dynamic Alignment in Disguise? Significant Uncertainty What does this imply for the long run? Conclusion Annex Key Points The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) has a complex bureaucratic structure, at the apex of which is a Partnership Council. The Partnership Council has powers to amend most of the TCA by mutual agreement, and there will be five-yearly reviews of the operation of the TCA. The UK regime for managing subsidies will be very similar to the EU system; the TCA will allow the UK and EU to challenge each other’s subsidies, ultimately referring disputes to arbitration. On labour standards and the environment, the EU and UK have committed not to weaken standards in ways that affect trade or investment and there is a fairly rigorous procedure for addressing violations. In addition, there are highly innovative procedures for rebalancing the trade elements of the TCA (and ultimately cancelling them) if one side changes its [...]

Download Briefing Paper 42 Briefing Paper 42 – June 2020 Erika Szyszczak Key Points Introduction Competition Provisions in International Trade Agreements The EU Negotiating Position The UK Negotiating Position New Directions for the Use of State Aid in the UK What Kind of State Aid Scheme Will the UK Implement? The Northern Ireland Protocol A State Aid Plan for Domestic Policy Conclusion  Key Points State aid is currently a stumbling block in the EU-UK trade talks. The EU demands a Level Playing Field (LPF) preferring that the UK follows the models found in Association Agreements made between the EU and its neighbours with the UK adopting a dynamic alignment with the EU State aid rules. But the EU has further demands that the UK also works closely with the European Commission and that UK national courts continue to make preliminary references to the European Court of Justice. The UK government wants sovereignty in the area of State aid and prefers to adopt a more relaxed process for international trade based upon the rules in the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM). There is evidence that the UK plans to adopt a different approach to the use [...]