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WTO, rules, commitments, tariffs, standards, trade wars, geographical indications, and more
UK-EU tariffs, tariff quotas, services, media, leadership, GATT Art24, continuity deals, and more
Trade, direct democracy
Crisis, reform, negotiations, disputes, amendments, agriculture, access to medicines, trade facilitation
Primers — archive
> All primers
The WTO and implications for the UK, EU, Brexit and international trade policy
These archived posts explain the WTO, how it works, its member-driven structure, and the UK’s and EU’s relationship with it.
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UK’s WTO membership and tariff commitments
- Will the UK have to re-join? (No) October 7, 2017
- Tariff quotas and Britain’s WTO commitments September 12, 2018
- Older archived version October 7; November 21, 2017
- 12 years on, EU’s certified WTO goods commitments now up to date to 2004. What are they? Where can I find them? February 4, 2017
Distortion of war | Tariff war? | War of words
- ‘Do trade deals to escape the WTO.’ So why bother with it? Weaponising the WTO is the worst way to understand the trading system we rely on February 7, 2019
- Spot the difference: US tariffs on Scotch are not part of a tariff war BBC Question Time was wrong about tariffs. It matters. February 15, 2020
- No such thing as a ‘WTO-deal’ Brexit. Video and text June 17, 2019
- Caught up in a war — the WTO, Brexit and ‘WTO terms’ April 6, 2019
On Brexit — archive
> Everything on: Brexit
Brexit and WTO commitments, WTO rules, free trade agreements, Brexit more generally, presentations and evidence
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Tariff quotas | GATT Article 24
- Second bite — how simple is the UK-WTO relationship post-Brexit? August 17, 2016
- Nothing simple about UK regaining WTO status post-Brexit June 7, 2016
- Primer — 2. Tariff quotas (Old guide now superseded) October 7; November 25, 2017)
- Is the UK government planning dodgy ‘access’ to the EU market? Proposed special deal on cars or banking mooted August 29, 2016
- The case of the two UK-EU ‘interim’ deals — is the one in the WTO really ‘Plan B’? March 20, 2017
Media | Alternative thinking | Theresa May
- Opinion Brexit challenges the meaning of ‘political’ reporting The problem isn’t just about quoting unnamed sources. It’s about what’s reported in the name of ‘politics’ October 27, 2019
- Opinion If we’re to understand the Brexit talks, the media must do better than this April 1, 2017
- Comment ‘Don’t negotiate. Announce.’ Clemens Boonekamp thinks outside the box on Brexit February 12, 2017
- (Older Six things I’ve learnt since the Brexit referendum: seeing both the wood and the trees January 9, 2017 | Three thoughts on the Brexit referendum June 29, 2016)
- Five thoughts from the 2019 Easter break 1. Red Queen Theresa’s Race | 2. Dishonesty and trade-offs | 3. They ain’t seen nothing yet | 4. Is the Prime Minister the problem? | 5. Democracy and sovereignty weaponised May 7, 2019
Presentations and evidence
External links: Global trade policy response to COVID-19 pandemic: a enquiry of the Commons International Trade Committee 1. Video (Soumaya Keynes, Marianne Petsinger, Simon J. Evenett, Alan Wolff, Peter Ungphakorn) | 2. Transcript page and direct link (html, pdf) | 3. Written evidence June 5, 2020
- Questions on Brexit, agriculture, WTO schedules, standards, free trade agreements. Lords’ EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee. Plus video of Alan Matthews, Joseph McMahon February 9, 2017
- Brexit, agriculture, the WTO, and uncertainty. Lords’ EU External Affairs, Brexit Sub-Committee October 22, 2016
- ‘Do trade deals to escape the WTO.’ So why bother with it? “Westminster Workshop” on parliamentary oversight of trade agreements. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, London February 7, 2019
- Caught up in a war — the WTO and Brexit. What does leaving the EU ‘on WTO terms’ mean? A presentation for Chatham House on some of the implications March 11; April 6, 2019
- UK, EU & WTO. A presentation For LSE’s Executive Master in Public Administration programme May 25, 2017
On Switzerland — archive
> Everything on: Switzerland
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Direct democracy
- How does a nation of serial voters handle a referendum? March 2, 2018
On THE WTO AND TRADE — archive
> Everything on: WTO
Dispute settlement, policy and negotiation, amendments and commitments
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Agriculture and more | Trade facilitation | G20
- C0mment Who put the boot into Canadian dairy and why? By Robert Wolfe and Peter Ungphakorn, May 25, 2017
- The race for the first ever WTO amendment: some key facts The race is won but it’s not over Updated March 5, 2018
- Update: the three essential tasks for the WTO’s new trade facilitation deal February 22, 2018
- Hard work lies ahead now that the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement has been activated in 112 countries February 25, 2017
- How to count the EU in the WTO Can EU law really dictate WTO rules? December 1, 2016 | Amendment on medicines faces EU conundrum Updated November 30, 2016
- G20 How seriously should we view G20 words on resisting protectionism? Updated September 6, 2016
> Everything on: agriculture | trade negotiations — category, tagged | trade facilitation | G20
Intellectual property
- The race for the first ever WTO amendment: some key facts Updated March 5, 2018
- How to count the EU in the WTO Can EU law dictate WTO rules? December 1, 2016 | WTO amendment on access to medicines faces EU conundrum April 14; November 30, 2016
- Negotiating history Book review: How ‘Dialogue of the Deaf’ produced a sound tool for policy-making Negotiators, on the WTO’s ground-breaking intellectual property deal August 26, 2016
> Everything on: intellectual property
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