Special Report Exporting beyond Brexit
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ccording to the UK government, post-Brexit Britain will be a global ‘force for good and an energetic champion of free trade’. There is also talk of ‘strengthening historic ties’ and embracing opportunities ‘in the rising economies of the future’. However, the optimism and positive statements hide considerable uncertainty, both over trade terms with the EU from 2021 onwards and with the 50 or so countries where trade had previously been covered by EU deals (most recently Japan and Canada) – and a new deal has yet to be put in place. The most important trade deal is with the EU, which accounts for 44% of the UK’s international trade. The tight deadline (progress by June and finalisation by December) may limit its scope, which could potentially spell a painful adjustment in 2021 – especially if there is no deal, which would mean a switch to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. This is by far the least attractive outcome, according to EIC CEO Stuart Broadley. ‘It’s clear that a deal is much better than no deal,’ he said. ‘The WTO terms sound
GLOBAL BRITAIN The coronavirus has affected post-Brexit talks, but it has not killed them. If trade deals can be closely tailored to UK strengths, the future could see growth for UK energy supply chain exporters, writes Jeremy Bowden
The biggest opportunity around Brexit is to work the energy transition into trade deals around COP26 and a net-zero target
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