Devolution and Post-Brexit Trade Agreements: Towards a Joint Trade Policy Committee?
Author | |
DOI | 10.3366/elr.2019.0556 |
Published date | 01 May 2019 |
Date | 01 May 2019 |
Pages | 266-272 |
In October 2017 when presenting the policy paper, Preparing for our Future UK Trade Policy, the Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox, recognised that for the first time since the 1970s, the United Kingdom (“UK”) would have its own independent trade policy.
In this present paper, we critically review the UK Government's current approach to involving the devolved administrations in post-Brexit trade policy development. We demonstrate that there is a significant lack of clarity on the future role of the devolved administrations in the development of trade policy. The Scottish Government is particularly concerned in this respect given that its extensive devolution settlement includes areas with significant trade dimensions such as agriculture, fisheries and environmental policy. We argue that greater clarity on such involvement is very much needed and, in response, propose the creation of a Trade Policy Committee through an amendment to the Trade Bill.
The Trade Bill introduced into the House of Commons in November 2017 is designed to ensure that the UK has the necessary powers to conduct an independent trade policy on its departure from the EU. In addition to the creation of a Trade Remedies Authority and providing for regulations to be made to provide UK implementation of the World Trade Organisation's (“WTO”) Government Procurement Agreement, it also allows regulations to be made to ensure the continuity of existing trade agreements to which the UK is a party by virtue of its membership of the EU.
The approach to be taken to
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