Download Briefing Paper 61 Briefing Paper 61 – July 2021 Minako Morita-Jaeger Key Points Introduction Digital policy divergence What is the direction of travel suggested by the five of the latest agreements? CPTPP joining requirements Conclusion Annex Key points The UK Government is in effect using Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as a major policy tool to attain its ambition to become a “champion of the international flow of data”. Doing so without a clear domestic digital trade policy is unwise. Comparing across FTAs, and notably those that the UK has concluded, the degree of consideration for public policy space in the related provisions (such as free data flow, ban on data localisation, and ban on disclosure of source code) and the government’s level of commitment to personal data and privacy protection varies considerably. What the UK signs up for, and with whom, will impact on domestic policy space. To join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the UK, in principle, may have to accept all its rules. This will be challenging in terms of (a) safeguarding public policy objectives, (b) maintaining the UK’s current high standard of data protection while ensuring the free data flow [...]

Download Briefing Paper 53 Briefing Paper 53 – January 2021 Ingo Borchert and Minako Morita-Jaeger Key Points Introduction Trade in Services: Overall Assessment Some Principal Changes Selected Services Sectors Digital Trade and Data Flows Conclusion Key Points The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) sets out the conditions under which UK businesses may supply services according to rules prevailing in the receiving (host) country. This constitutes a major change compared to the economic freedom to provide or receive services through cross-border trade and/or establishment in the EU Single Market, which the UK has left with the end of the Brexit implementation period. The TCA appears to be ambitious in a few sectors such as telecommunications, international maritime transport and digital trade, where strong disciplines seemed uncontroversial. But the TCA is a major setback to services sectors that have hitherto relied on UK regulation being recognised in other EU economies, such as licenses or professional qualifications. This is particularly the case for financial services with the loss of passporting rights, and for air and road transportation services, both of which will see their mode of operations severely curtailed. The TCA provides for improved mobility of skilled workers between the [...]

Download this Briefing Paper Briefing Paper 50 – December 2020 Minako Morita Jaeger and Yohannes Ayele Keypoints Introduction Trade and Investment overview Trade in goods Trade in services Digital and data Investment Conclusion Footnotes Key points Evaluating the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is important as it will become a benchmark for the UK’s future Free Trade Agreement (FTA). CEPA largely replicates the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (JEEPA) except for some developments in areas such as e-commerce, and moderate developments in rules of origin and regulatory cooperation in financial services. The developments with regard to e-commerce provisions are a highlight of CEPA. The provisions go further than the e-commerce provisions in JEEPA as well as beyond the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in some areas. However, such changes in approach are also likely to have broader social implications. CEPA failed to make any significant advances in areas, such as investment, the movement of natural persons, and audio-visual services. For the UK’s future FTAs, it is important that the government establishes clearer policy positions, including with regard to regulatory alignment with the EU, on a number of issues and their treatment under FTAs. Deep FTAs [...]