Sink or Swim? UK Trade Arrangements after Brexit. Bruges Political Research Papers 57/2017

Hine, Robert (2017) Sink or Swim? UK Trade Arrangements after Brexit. Bruges Political Research Papers 57/2017. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

‘Brexit’ – the departure of the UK from the European Union – will have important implications for international trade in Europe and beyond. This paper explores two related questions. First, how may the trade arrangement between the UK and the remaining EU countries be reconfigured? The spectrum appears to run from free trade and elements of the Single Market (‘soft Brexit’) to the full re-imposition of tariffs across the Channel (‘hard Brexit’). Secondly, what scope does the UK possess for reorganising its future trade relationship with non-EU countries? Is there, for example, a glittering range of free trade possibilities around a dynamic globe, or are the openings for a small player very restricted? The outcome of the imminent negotiations with the EU on Brexit and its trade policy dimensions are likely to have profound consequences for the future prosperity of the UK.

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