The UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) is likely to have significant ramifications for services trade because the Single Market has been particularly salient for facilitating the international exchange of services.  Yet the discussion of potential effects on the British economy of Brexit has largely been confined to manufacturing sectors at the national level.  Less attention has been paid to services sectors, even though the UK economy is particularly strong in exporting services. To address this void, this Briefing Paper describes the rich pattern by which UK regions are exporting different kinds of services.  In particular, it traces the extent to which UK regions export services relatively intensively to EU countries relative to other destinations outside the EU. Read Briefing Paper 14 – BREXIT AND REGIONAL SERVICES EXPORTS: A HEATMAP APPROACH and the Online Appendix.

Trade in services is economically significant for several reasons; it directly affects UK consumers’ welfare in such sectors as telecommunications, health or retail distribution; producer services such as finance, transportation or professional services are inputs into both the production and international exchange of goods; and it makes a positive contribution to the UK’s current account. Brexit will have important repercussions for the UK’s economic ties with the EU in the realm of services markets. This paper highlights how Brexit might directly and indirectly affect UK services trade and policy-making in this area. Read Briefing Paper 6 – SERVICES TRADE IN THE UK: WHAT IS AT STAKE?

By electing to leave the European Union, the United Kingdom has chosen – among many other things – to leave the customs union (and the single market that includes all member states) and reassert its status as an individual member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In doing so, it will take sole responsibility for the control and governance of its external trade policy with all other WTO members (including the EU) within the framework of WTO rules. This paper explores the nature of those WTO commitments and how they might impact the UK from the date of its exit from the EU. Read Briefing Paper 1 – THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION: A SAFETY NET FOR A POST-BREXIT UK TRADE POLICY?