SUMMARY
David Henig outlines how, although trade has rarely been at the forefront of either the EU or UK’s considerations, the re-emergence of trade barriers would lead to significant economic losses. He considers the current UK-EU trading relationship and how it may develop. The future relationship will probably be an unusually loose one, and a closer trading relationship might evolve from this low point. Experience suggests that problems in the trade relationship will be best handled politically, and the rationales for future agreements will develop through dispute settlement.
This chapter is part of the publication Towards an ambitious, broad, deep and flexible EU-UK partnership?, which examines the political, economic, social and institutional implications of the UK’s departure from the EU in different policy fields, as well as its impact on UK politics and EU integration. The contributions in this book, all by leading experts on Brexit, draw from discussions held in the Brexit Think Tank Group, which was set up by the EPC in the aftermath of the 2016 referendum. Through this format, the EPC facilitated a continuing exchange between the European Commission’s Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom and the policy community.
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