12 September 2022 Michael Gasiorek is Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex Business School. Once again, the UK has a new Prime Minister, a new cabinet, and thus a new Secretary of State for International Trade. This is the 4th Secretary of State for trade in five years! […]
18 July 2022 Michael Gasiorek is Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Co-Director of the Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy. He is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex Business School. Boris Johnson was elected on the slogan and promise of ‘Get Brexit Done’. It is perhaps somewhat ironic, then, to see disagreement between the contenders to succeed him as to whether Brexit has actually yet been done. […]
14 June 2022 Mattia Di Ubaldo is a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and a Research Fellow in Economics at the University of Sussex Business School. Michael Gasiorek is Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex Business School. The UK Government has published its bill on the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP), making a clear move to try to force changes in the arrangements disciplining the economic regime applying to the portion of the UK that has remained in the EU Single Market post-Brexit. The points of strongest contention between the UK Government and the EU concern the custom and regulatory checks applying to trade flowing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland together with a list of additional issues resulting from Northern Ireland remaining part of the EU Single Market territory: the regulatory regime applying to firms in Northern Ireland, rules on VAT, the use of state subsidies, and the role of the European Court of Justice in overseeing the NIP. […]
Briefing Paper 67 – April 2022 Michael Gasiorek Download Briefing Paper 67 Key Points Introduction Background Why is greater supply chain resilience desired? The interest in supply chains is not just about resilience What have been some of the policy responses? The legitimacy of policy responses to supply chain resilience What is the role of international coordination and free trade agreements? Conclusion Key points • Economic and geopolitical shocks have raised concern over supply chain resilience whilst environmental problems highlight the need for sustainable supply chains.• Resilient and sustainable supply chains require firms to have detailed knowledge of their production processes, and possibly labour standards both upstream and downstream and digitisation is making this traceability easier.• In recent years, various countries have brought in a range of measures with a focus on enhancing the resilience of supposedly strategic sectors, but some of these policies have been introduced to protect domestic industry from foreign competition.• The US has consistently introduced the greatest number of trade restricting measures, followed by the EU.• Many of the policy interventions are also a direct response to concerns regarding China’s role in the global economy and policies pursued in China.• The risk is that [...]
Despite the positive narrative around the growth in global supply chains, we currently see considerable discussion and growing concern over the issue of ‘supply chain resilience’. This Briefing Paper analyses the rationale behind greater supply chain resilience and sustainability and the policies being used to address vulnerability in certain supply chains. The author finds that policy responses do not always concern supply chain resilience and in many cases they may have been designed more to protect domestic producers. To negate the risk that supply chain resilience is used as a get-out clause for a wide range of industrial policy interventions. This Briefing Paper suggests a taxonomy for understanding different possible legitimate reasons for being concerned about supply chains and provides ten ways more international coordination could be achieved. Read Briefing Paper 67: Supply Chain Resilience: The dangers of ‘pick n mix’
11 March 2022 Michael Gasiorek is Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory and Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex Business School President Biden announced today that the US, the EU, and the G7 countries (which includes the UK) will be suspending Russia’s Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status at the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this blog we look at what this actually means for the UK and what the potential trade implications are for the UK. […]
Briefing Paper 66 – January 2022 Download Briefing Paper 66 Ingo Borchert, Michael Gasiorek, Guillermo Larbalestier, Nicolo Tamberi Key Points Introduction Global value chains and vertical fragmentation in services and manufacturing industries Approaches to measurement UK engagement in value chains, specifically mode 5 Services value-added share Services value-added share and exports intensity Services value-added share and foreign ownership in industries Which services are used as inputs? The importance of manufacturing and other sectors for service industries What can we learn from using firm-level data? Who trades services? Who trades goods? The use of services by manufacturing firms Impact of UK FTAs on services trade and Mode 5 UK-EU TCA effects Conclusion Disclaimer Key Points Services increasingly matter for the UK economy and for UK trade. Services can be traded either directly, be this by selling a design service from one country to another or by sending a consultant abroad, or they can be traded indirectly as inputs into goods trade. The latter is often referred to as ‘Mode 5 services trade.’ The interconnectedness of services trade and goods trade does not simply derive from the use of services by goods producers, but also because services themselves are traded by [...]
This Briefing Paper aims to further understanding of the importance of trade in services for the UK economy. In particular, to shed light on the relationship between services and manufacturing trade, including an increasingly significant form of services trade known as Mode 5. We explore input-output data, firm-level data and the links between services and manufacturing in the context of the UK’s independent trade policy. The authors provide evidence that shows that the nature of how these services interact with goods trade and the policy or market access barriers and their implications need to be understood in much greater detail for policy purposes. Read Briefing Paper 66: Links between services and manufacturing trade in the UK: Mode 5 and beyond
27 January 2022 Michael Gasiorek is Professor of Economics and Director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex and Guillermo Larbalestier is Research Assistant in International Trade at the University of Sussex and Fellow of the UKTPO. The crisis between Ukraine and Russia is deeply concerning – for the people of Ukraine, but also in terms of broader ramifications for world order and stability. NATO’s strategy to avoid direct military action against Russia points at diplomacy and economic sanctions. It is therefore useful to consider the possible role of these in the realm of international trade. As we show below, Russian trade is highly dependent on the EU and NATO member states. Hence, the scope for the use of such policy is there. This is not an argument, however, for so doing – as that involves complex political trade-offs (which are beyond the scope of this blog). The importance of Russia as a supplier in particular sectors, notably energy, and hence the dependence of the EU and NATO member states on Russia is also a factor in those trade-offs. […]
Download Briefing Paper 64 Briefing Paper 64 – December 2021 Camilla Jensen, Michael Gasiorek and Emily Lydgate Key points Introduction The problem of carbon transfers and leakage in the UK context Focus, assumptions & policy scenarios The UK’s own ETS after Brexit – how does it work? Identifying UK industries at risk of carbon leakage Potential implications of a UK BCA and the EU’s CBAM Policy implications Conclusion Key points The UK, as one of the most highly developed countries in the world, is also among the top destinations of carbon imports. A Border Carbon Adjustment (BCA) involves extending domestic carbon pricing by introducing carbon-related charges on imported products, typically in high emitting sectors which are those at risk of carbon leakage. There is the possibility that if the EU introduces a CBAM and the UK does not, the UK could become more of a target for carbon-intensive trade from third countries. The EU ETS allows for other schemes to be linked. Both the UK and EU are planning ETS changes, so unless the two systems continue to mirror each other, the earlier that the two systems can be linked the more straightforward the process will be. Four [...]
© 2024 UK Trade Policy Observatory
Site by: Phipps Design