Reports
UK trade and the war in Ukraine
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at the economic and geopolitical implications of the war for the UK. The UK is less exposed to the direct trade effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine than its European neighbours. However, both the indirect and longer-term effects on UK trade are potentially significant. This briefing...
The EU needs a bigger playing field – not a level playing field
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at whether ‘level playing field’ tools can be repurposed to help deliver new priorities. Policy-makers in Brussels and EU capitals are increasingly worried that other countries are taking unfair advantage of the EU’s open markets. They fret that EU firms are disadvantaged. In...
Trade for an inclusive circular economy
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at a framework for collective action on circular trade. Circular trade is a key enabler of a global circular economy, but inequities in power relations, digital trade capabilities, trade infrastructure, access to finance, and industrial and innovation capabilities mean that countries in the Global North are...
Post-Brexit imports, supply chains, and the effect on consumer prices
This report from UK think tank UK in a Changing Europe looks at the decrease in imports following the UK's departure of the Single Market. This report documents the decrease in imports and shows how the patterns of imports vary across sectors following the UK’s departure from the Single Market and Customs Unit at the...
Trading up
This report from UK think tank the Centre for Policy Studies looks at how to support UK exports in a post-Brexit world. SMEs make up 99.9% of UK businesses, employing 16.3 million people. They are at the heart of the UK economy. Yet historically, they have been far more reluctant to export than their international...
Inclusive trade: four crucial aspects
This latest report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at the conceptualisation of ‘inclusive trade’. This Working Paper contributes to the conceptualisation of ‘inclusive trade’. The review adopts a deliberative approach while considering the direct and indirect distributive dimensions of trade. It draws attention to issues across four central aspects of...
Prospects for a Global Britain
This report from UK think tank Civitas looks at three strategic export industries and how freeports can help. In the third of a three-part series on UK trade, Phil Radford looks at why manufacturing in strategic industries has either moved offshore or stayed offshore. Prospects for a Global Britain: Three Strategic Export Industries for the...
Free trade under Brexit
This report from UK think tank Civitas looks at why Brexit's benefits to the UK have been widely underestimated. In this report published by Civitas, Professor Minford (Professor of Applied Economics, Cardiff University) analyses the ways in which official trade modelling and policy assumptions have underestimated the gains from free trade with non-EU countries. The...
A presage to India
This report from UK think tank Resolution Foundation assesses the UK’s new Indo-Pacific trade focus. This briefing note looks at the implications of the Government’s trade policy pivot to target the fast-growing Indo-Pacific region, following its unsuccessful attempt to deliver a trade deal with the US. It focuses on the impact of a possible trade...
China’s approach to global economic governance
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at China's increasingly complex engagement in global governance. China’s trade and development finance objectives and Western concerns about these have remained relatively consistent over the last two decades. However, as China’s economy and influence have expanded, the response of the international community has become more robust...
Implications of COVID-19 for UK food supply resilience
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at risks to food and nutrition security during and after the pandemic. Since its onset, the COVID-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of food systems around the world. The impacts of this unprecedented global event on food and nutrition security had the potential to be extraordinarily...
US and European strategies for resilient supply chains
This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at how to balance globalisation and sovereignty. The US, the EU and the UK hold a leading position in international trade and the global economy, and enjoy wide-reaching economic partnerships with Asia-Pacific nations. Governments in the US and Europe have a critically important role to play...
It’s easy being green
This report from UK think tank the Adam Smith Institute looks at how to embrace nuclear energy, a border-adjusted carbon tax, and clean free trade. The Adam Smith Institute’s latest paper, in conjunction with the British Conservation Alliance (BCA), and authored by BCA policy director Connor Tomlinson outlines a market centric approach to tackling environmental...
