Taking back control of trade

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The United Kingdom will only reap the benefits of taking back control of trade policy after it leaves the European Union if government radically changed the way it operated.

Taking Back Control of Trade Policy says that, despite the creation of a new trade department, the civil service and ministers are not even close to being ready to negotiate – let alone implement – new global trading relationships. The paper sets out the how the UK can become a powerful, independent player in international trade.

The authors argue that good trade policy requires civil servants to work across departments, collaborate with business, be open with consumers and the public and spend their careers developing deep knowledge and expertise. But this is not Whitehall’s normal way of doing business.

Ministers will have to make tricky choices about the country’s priorities and recognise there is much more to trade policy than making deals. They should avoid sinking resources into negotiations with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) or the USA, prioritising instead the replication of existing EU deals with Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey and Singapore.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Nothing to declare. A plan for UK-EU trade outside the Customs Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/nothing-to-declare-a-plan-for-uk-eu-trade-outside-the-customs-union/

IFG: Publication: Taking back control of trade policy, May 2017 https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/taking-back-control-trade-policy

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