UK- EU

Environment and climate change in the EU-UK negotiations: Arguing the toss over nothing

26 May 2020 Dr Emily Lydgate is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Sussex and a Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. The fundamental difference between the EU and UK positions on environment and climate is that of tradition (in the UK) versus innovation (in the EU). In fact tradition is somewhat of an understatement – the UK has made good on its aspiration for a ‘Canada-style’ deal by copying the environment chapter from that Agreement in its proposed EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) more or less verbatim. This chapter is relatively mild in the level of obligation it imposes. It requires parties to uphold and enforce their own domestic environmental laws, but only if failing to do so would encourage trade and investment. Violation of this commitment does not lead to trade sanctions or fines. This raises some questions. […]

By Emily Lydgate|2025-07-18T10:43:47+01:0026 May 2020|UK- EU|0 Comments

Reflections on the UK Global Tariff: good in principle, but perhaps not for relations with the EU

21 May 2020 Michael Gasiorek is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and Julia Magntorn Garrett is a Research Officer in Economics at the University of Sussex. Both are Fellows of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. Let’s start at the very beginning… Suppose a country was (more or less) starting from scratch with its trade policy, and anticipated wanting to sign future trade agreements with other countries. What might you want from that country’s tariff structure? At the end of the day it is important to remember that tariffs are discriminatory taxes (i.e. they discriminate against foreign suppliers) which reduce competition, distort markets and lower national welfare. So, aiming to get to low (zero) tariffs is a good objective. But there may also be some other considerations. Here are some guidelines: […]

By Michael Gasiorek, Julia Magntorn Garrett|2025-07-18T10:44:42+01:0021 May 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments

New tariff on the block: What is in the UK’s Global Tariff?

20 May 2020 L. Alan Winters CB is Professor of Economics and Director of the Observatory, Michael Gasiorek is Professor of Economics at the University of Sussex and Julia Magntorn Garrett is a Research Officer in Economics at the University of Sussex. Both are Fellows of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. On Tuesday 19th May the UK’s ‘Global Tariff’ was published. These are the tariffs that will apply on any products that the UK imports on a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) basis from the end of the transition period when the UK is no longer bound by the EU’s Common External Tariff. The published tariffs come after a public consultation on the subject was held in February this year. This note summarises how the new tariff compares to the UK’s current MFN tariffs (which are also the rates that the UK has bound in the WTO for after the transition period) and outlines what has changed since the tariff consultation. […]

By L. Alan Winters, Michael Gasiorek, Julia Magntorn Garrett|2025-07-18T10:46:05+01:0020 May 2020|UK- EU|17 Comments

The Unfinished Business of the Northern Ireland Protocol

7 May 2020 Dr Anna Jerzewska is an independent customs and trade consultant, and Associate Fellow of the UKTPO. While the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government’s decision not to request an extension to the transition period means that the UK and the EU have only eight months until 31st December 2020 to complete the talks on the future trading relationship. If a trade deal is not agreed by 1 January 2021 the Northern Ireland Protocol will take effect. The Protocol, which forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement, determines how the Irish border will work in the absence of agreement at the end of the transition period. A Joint Committee, a body established within the Withdrawal Agreement, is charged with, amongst other things, deciding how the Protocol will be implemented. The deadline for making these decisions is therefore fast approaching. […]

By Anna Jerzewska|2025-07-18T10:47:00+01:007 May 2020|UK- EU|3 Comments

A global agreement to end disruption of Coronavirus medical supplies

1 May 2020 An international agreement on vital medical goods that keeps import restrictions low and constrains the use of export bans could help ensure all countries have sufficient supplies for the fight against Coronavirus, our new briefing paper proposes. According to the report, which was produced in collaboration with Global Trade Alert, a global bargain where exporting nations give assurances medical supplies will not be cut off arbitrarily and importing governments agree not to re-introduce their import restrictions would remove disruption and uncertainty around the availability of life-saving goods. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-05-01T10:52:58+01:001 May 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments

UK Procurement Policy: Going it Alone in a Crisis

28 April 2020 Ian Clarke is CEO of Excalibur Managed Services Limited and Professor Erika Szyszczak is a Fellow of UKTPO. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of global supply chains and the need for robust public procurement policy and procedures. […]

By Erika Szyszczak|2025-07-18T10:48:52+01:0028 April 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|1 Comment

Small firms, large problems?

20 April 2020 Julia Magntorn Garrett is a Research Officer in Economics at the University of Sussex and Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. The economic consequence of the Covid-19 outbreak is undoubtedly the most immediate worry for most businesses world-wide currently. While businesses of all sizes are affected, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are particularly vulnerable given their size and often limited resources. In the UK, the SMEs (enterprises with up to 249 employees) that are able to weather the immediate crisis still face the consequences of Brexit. While the outbreak of the virus halted several of the scheduled negotiating rounds, the UK Government is still adamant that there will not be an extension to the transition period beyond December 2020. […]

By Julia Magntorn Garrett|2025-07-18T10:50:19+01:0020 April 2020|UK- EU|1 Comment

Supermarket sweep: demand, supply and border delays

16 April 2020 Peter Holmes is a Reader in Economics at the University of Sussex and Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. At the time of writing the UK is seeing food supplies returning to normal. It is worth asking what the experience of the first three weeks of lockdown can tell us about the causes of the apparent shortages and the implications for the future. There is a hope that now everyone’s spare rooms are full of toilet rolls and cans of beans and the supermarkets are fuller, stocks will get back to normal. But it may not be quite as simple. Are shortages just due to excessive stockpiling or real supply constraints? And if the latter how does trade fit in? […]

By Peter Holmes|2025-07-18T10:52:34+01:0015 April 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|1 Comment

The UK Government’s Global Tariff proposal – a virtual discussion

31 March 2020 Julia Magntorn Garrett is a Research Officer in Economics at the University of Sussex and Fellow of the UK Trade Policy Observatory. On Wednesday 18 March, the UKTPO published a Briefing Paper in response to the UK Government’s consultation on the UK’s future applied Most Favoured Nation tariff. In lieu of a public launch event, which had to be cancelled due to coronavirus, this blog outlines some excellent feedback we have already received and aims to open up the issue for further discussion. […]

By Julia Magntorn Garrett|2025-07-18T10:53:19+01:0031 March 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|4 Comments

The economic impact of COVID-19 on Airlines: why the Chancellor was right to refuse further government financial assistance

30 March 2020 Guest Blog by Ian Clarke, CEO of Excalibur Global Managed Services Ltd. Following on from the previous blog by Erika Szyszczak on the new temporary adaptation of EU state aid rules in the light of the COVID-19 economic crisis, this blog discusses why the UK should take a cautionary approach to special aid being directed to the aviation sector. […]

By Nick Phipps|2020-03-30T12:51:37+01:0030 March 2020|UK - Non EU, UK- EU|0 Comments

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