The House of Commons international trade committee has reported on its inquiry into the different potential models for UK international trade after the UK leaves the EU. The report considers the UK’s relationship with the World Trade Organisation (WTO); the government’s plans for a free-trade agreement with the EU; the implications of the UK falling back on trading with the EU under WTO rules alone; and the UK’s future trading relationship with non-EU countries. Among the report’s conclusions are that:
establishing the bound-tariff element of separate UK schedules at the WTO should be straightforward, but less clear is how easy it will be to disaggregate the UK element from the quantitative aspect of the EU’s tariff schedules;
material changes to the UK’s position at the WTO should be subject to appropriate parliamentary scrutiny;
the government must initiate negotiations for an EU-UK free-trade agreement, including customs arrangements and a phased process of implementation, in parallel to the Article 50 negotiations;
vagueness around the precise form of the government’s desired post-Brexit ‘customs arrangement’ is creating uncertainty, leading to delayed investment decisions, particularly in the manufacturing sector;
the government must, as a matter of urgency, clarify arrangements for customs and border operations, and specify the expected number and intensity of customs checks;
the government must set out as clearly as possible the likely consequences of trading under WTO rules alone and should seek to discount such a ‘no deal’ option entirely;
the secretary of state should write to the committee setting out clearly the government’s position on how far it can go towards negotiating new free-trade agreements before the UK leaves the EU; and
while the committee is mindful of the need for the government not to reveal its hand, the department for international trade should publish a broad strategy document on negotiating free-trade agreements, describing and justifying the outlines of its approach.
The House of Commons international trade committee has reported on its inquiry into the different potential models for UK international trade after the UK leaves the EU. The report considers the UK’s relationship with the World Trade Organisation (WTO); the government’s plans for a free-trade agreement with the EU; the implications of the UK falling back on trading with the EU under WTO rules alone; and the UK’s future trading relationship with non-EU countries. Among the report’s conclusions are that:
establishing the bound-tariff element of separate UK schedules at the WTO should be straightforward, but less clear is how easy it will be to disaggregate the UK element from the quantitative aspect of the EU’s tariff schedules;
material changes to the UK’s position at the WTO should be subject to appropriate parliamentary scrutiny;
the government must initiate negotiations for an EU-UK free-trade agreement, including customs arrangements and a phased process of implementation, in parallel to the Article 50 negotiations;
vagueness around the precise form of the government’s desired post-Brexit ‘customs arrangement’ is creating uncertainty, leading to delayed investment decisions, particularly in the manufacturing sector;
the government must, as a matter of urgency, clarify arrangements for customs and border operations, and specify the expected number and intensity of customs checks;
the government must set out as clearly as possible the likely consequences of trading under WTO rules alone and should seek to discount such a ‘no deal’ option entirely;
the secretary of state should write to the committee setting out clearly the government’s position on how far it can go towards negotiating new free-trade agreements before the UK leaves the EU; and
while the committee is mindful of the need for the government not to reveal its hand, the department for international trade should publish a broad strategy document on negotiating free-trade agreements, describing and justifying the outlines of its approach.
