What is being done to promote Britain’s exporters – and what should be done?

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Huw Edwards and Tien-Der Jerry Han, SBE, and Shan Rambukwella, Derby  After Brexit, supporting Britain’s exporters has become more important. Britain’s share of global exports has been sliding for many years, and we lag behind our main competitors, particularly in goods exports. Faced with barriers to Europe, we may need to find new export markets.  Government reviews its export promotionRead more

I have a trade deal in my pocket, and I’m prepared to use it!

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An opinion piece by Dr T. Huw Edwards Mike Pompeo, US Secretary of State, has just waded into the Brexit debate, promising a trade deal with the UK is very close. This move is clearly intended to influence the debate in the UK against a close relationship with Brussels. But, if we were indeed toRead more

Should the UK remain in a Customs Union?

This Blog post was written by Dr Huw Edwards. The debate over ‘what kind of Brexit?’ seems to be reaching an important tipping point, with the Labour party now joining with pro-European Tories and the Confederation of British Industry in recommending one particular form of ‘soft Brexit’: namely, that the UK should remain in aRead more

The EU Referendum: An application of Public Choice economics

  My small plea in the EU referendum debate is for voters to ignore overblown rhetoric, whether about “the European ideal” or about “this scepter’d isle”, and to focus instead on incentives. I’ll give three brief examples. First, the people working in Brussels – the MEPs, Commissioners, and bureaucrats – are human like the restRead more

Brexit and the trade debate

For people who want to read an article on UK, EU and Canadian trade that actually has some substance, I would strongly Simon Nixon’s piece in today’s Times. This explains clearly why a ‘Free Trade Area’ such as the old EFTA, or today’s NAFTA, is not synonymous with Free Trade. FTAs have no tariffs betweenRead more