By Sam Lowe Far from reclaiming its independence, post-Brexit Britain will have to choose between remaining within the EU’s regulatory ambit or performing a transatlantic pivot towards the US. Either way, it will be a rule-taker, not a rule-maker Brexit-induced dreams of independence have poisoned Britain’s political discourse. Scarcely a day goes by without a new rallying cry plastered across a tabloid front page: We will break free of the …
Continue readingMore open?
By Rebekah Smith Global migration is only likely to increase. But while there are strong international institutions to address global issues such as trade and development, international cooperation on migration issues remains threadbare. Worse, it has a gaping hole: it fails to do anything to facilitate increased people flows. That urgently needs to change. Europe’s “refugee crisis” – a misnomer, as Patrick Kingsley explains in The New Odyssey – highlights …
Continue readingThere’s nothing more patriotic than wanting your country to be better
By Jack Graham Reactionary nationalists like to portray themselves as the only true patriots, but wanting the best for your country ought to mean embracing openness and progress Nasty nationalism is back in force in Western politics. Since the Brexit vote, government ministers have attacked Remainers – those who wish Britain to remain in the European Union (EU) – and sceptical journalists for being unpatriotic. In the US, Donald Trump …
Continue readingCan Brexit Britain really become a global trader?
By Guy de Jonquières There is no need to leave the EU to trade more with the rest of the world; Germany exports five times more to China than Britain does. Indeed, far from creating an open, free-trading Global Britain, Brexit is likely to close the UK off more Brexit enthusiasts love to talk up the wealth of economic opportunities they claim Britain will have once it leaves the EU. …
Continue readingLeaked UK immigration proposals could wreck hopes of a Brexit deal
It’s been a bad week for those of us who believe in open societies. Donald Trump cancelled an Obama-era programme that shields from deportation undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children. And leaked UK immigration proposals set out harsh terms for EU citizens after Brexit that threaten to scupper the already deadlocked Brexit negotiations. It is morally wrong to threaten to deport young people who basically know only the US, have done nothing wrong and should not be held responsible …
Continue readingRenegotiating NAFTA: “fair” or foul?
By Marta Bengoa Amid all the controversies surrounding President Donald Trump, the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada and Mexico – which starts tomorrow – may seem relatively unimportant. But think again. The US’s NAFTA partners spend some $600 billion a year on American goods and services, making them its biggest export market. As the US’s neighbours, the future of their trade relations …
Continue readingFree trade requires openness to people too
By Philippe Legrain Britain’s international trade minister, Liam Fox, was in Washington DC this week crowing about prospects for a post-Brexit trade deal with the US. Cue much clucking about whether this would entail the UK having to accept “chlorinated chicken”. Fox insisted that there wasn’t even a nugget of truth to fears that American poultry was unsafe to eat. But feathers flew when another leading Brexiteer, environment minister …
Continue readingThe case for freedom of movement
The single most important determinant of people’s life chances is not how talented they are or how hard they work, it’s where they were born. A bright, enterprising, hard-working woman born in an African village is likely to lead a worse life than a lazy dimwit born in North America, Europe or Australia. Migration can change that. In fact, allowing people in poorer countries to move to richer ones with …
Continue readingAfter the G20, can the EU lead on trade?
By Iana Dreyer At the G20 summit in Hamburg over the weekend, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders were among the few advocates for free trade. In a summit declaration heavy on weasel words such as “reciprocity”, “mutual”, “trade defence”, “level playing field”, they managed to insert a commitment (with caveats) to “keep markets open”. Which begs the question: With President Donald Trump leading the US in an increasingly protectionist direction, might …
Continue readingWhy the EU-Japan trade deal matters, not least for Brexiting Britain
By Hosuk Lee-Makiyama Free traders haven’t had much good news lately. So far this year, we’ve seen President Donald Trump withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), start to renegotiate the North American Free-Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and threaten trade wars with Germany and China. Meanwhile, Europe’s trade policy has been mired in crisis following the near-failed ratification of its Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada and legal wrangling over its …
Continue reading