Trade policy
How the Digital Markets Act will challenge consumers
24 January 2022
The European Parliament’s proposals to tame big tech will challenge consumers. Some of these proposals will promote innovation – but law-makers should drop proposals which will stifle it.
Opening Pandora's Box: What the EU-UK trade deal means for trade and conditionality
13 October 2021
The EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement includes world-leading sustainability commitments.
The US and the Northern Ireland Protocol: Time to walk the walk
07 May 2021
The US wants the UK to diverge from EU food hygiene rules and to prioritise political and economic stability in Northern Ireland. But what if the UK can’t do both?
The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism: How to make it work for developing countries
22 April 2021
The EU should exempt developing country exports from its CBAM to avoid unfairly penalising countries that have contributed a much smaller share of cumulative global carbon emissions.
Bulletin issue 137 - April/May 2021
29 March 2021
- Why Europe should spend big like Biden, Christian Odendahl, John Springford
- Post-Brexit data transfers are not a done deal, Sam Lowe, Camino Mortera-Martinez
- Can Europe stabilise the Sahel?, Katherine Pye
Keeping up appearances: What now for UK services trade?
22 February 2021
Rather than obsessing about services exports, UK policy-makers should focus on investment and ensuring the UK remains an attractive destination for multinational services firms to operate out of.
It takes two to tango: The EU and the UK need to work together to make the Northern Ireland protocol work
02 February 2021
The European Commission’s aborted attempt to restrict vaccines moving from the EU to Northern Ireland risked undermining years of hard work.
The EU-UK trade and co-operation agreement: A platform on which to build?
12 January 2021
The new trade deal between the EU and the UK could be improved upon over time, but that is not a given. It could also crumble away.
Ten reflections on a sovereignty-first Brexit
28 December 2020
The UK-EU trade deal prioritises sovereignty over economics. Politicians will soon be talking about how to improve the deal. Very little about the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU has been settled.
Navigating accidental illegality
30 November 2020
Next year many companies selling goods or services between the UK and EU will inadvertently break some rule or other. But the immediate consequences of their inevitable infractions remain uncertain.
Bulletin issue 135 - December 2020/January 2021
30 November 2020
- Can Biden mend Trump's foreign policy mess?, Ian Bond
- Navigating accidental illegality, Sam Lowe
- Turkey rising?, Luigi Scazzieri
What would a Biden presidency mean for US-EU trade relations?
28 October 2020
Joe Biden in the White House would remove the threat of a US-EU trade war from the table, and open up new areas for co-operation.
A tale of batteries, Brexit and EU strategic autonomy
23 October 2020
Recently leaked proposals suggest the EU wants to use the EU-UK trade deal to help on-shore an electric vehicle supply chain.
Bulletin issue 134 - October/November 2020
30 September 2020
- A trade deal would give the City of London breathing space, John Springford
- Will the coronavirus pandemic deliver a coup de grâce to Schengen?, Camino Mortera-Martinez
- Can the EU's Strategic Compass steer European defence?, Luigi Scazzieri
A trade deal would give the City of London breathing space
30 September 2020
The EU’s decisions on financial equivalence for the UK are formally separate from the trade deal under negotiation. But in reality, the two are linked.
A terrible border is reborn? Ireland and a no-deal Brexit
25 September 2020
If the UK fails to reach a trade deal with the EU, and does not implement the special arrangements for Northern Ireland agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement, Ireland faces the prospect of a hard land border being reborn.
Five reasons why even a basic EU-UK trade deal is better than nothing
18 August 2020
A deal would avoid tariffs, unlock supplementary benefits, allow for EU and UK customs co-operation, ensure the Northern Ireland protocol is implemented sustainably
EU-UK negotiations: No need to panic (yet)
12 June 2020
A deal between the EU and UK remains possible. But neither side is likely to compromise on its current negotiating position until later in the year, when the cost of failure will become significantly more tangible.
How to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol
14 May 2020
The UK must face up to its responsibilities and work with the EU to ensure goods can move as freely as possible between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The future EU-UK relationship and the (relative) case for optimism
02 March 2020
Beyond the headline disagreements, both the EU and UK have similar expectations as to what a future free trade agreement can and cannot deliver.