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Four Principles for the UK's Brexit Trade Negotiations
Report

Four Principles for the UK's Brexit Trade Negotiations

LSE, 2016

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8

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

At the 2016 Tory Party Conference, the UK prime minister, Theresa May, announced her intention to trigger Article 50 – the formal start to the United Kingdom’s breakaway from the European Union – before the end of March 2017. Once set in motion, both parties will have just two years to reach an agreement. London School of Economics assistant professor Thomas Sampson outlines an applicable negotiation strategy to help the United Kingdom emerge from these high-pressure negotiations with a favorable, if not perfect, outcome. getAbstract recommends this analysis to economists, lawyers and readers interested in the global economy.

Summary

When negotiating new trade agreements with the European Union, four principles should guide the United Kingdom’s strategy to help it make “the best of a bad hand”:

  1. “You get what you give” – The United Kingdom must offer trading partners something of value if it wants to get something of value in return. The government shouldn’t begin negotiations without first determining what it is willing to concede and what it expects in return. For example, if the United Kingdom hopes to continue participating in the European Union’s single market, it must make a “sufficiently attractive offer”; otherwise, the European...

About the Author

Thomas Sampson, PhD, is an assistant professor and lecturer at London School of Economics and Political Science.