Restricting Immigration Means Constricting Trade in Services

Summary:

With much of the Brexit debate focusing on customs unions, border frictions and goods, the UK’s services industries have largely been ignored. This will not be the case forever. But if the UK is to embrace a global role as a vocal advocate of services liberalisation, it will need to rethink its approach to immigration. The movement of people and movement of services are intertwined, and to embrace one is to embrace the other. The British government will need to decide which to prioritise: arbitrary political targets for reducing the number of foreign people who move to the UK to study and work; or the future success of one of Britain’s few economic bright spots: traded services.

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