Professor Piet Eeckhout publishes study on options after Brexit for INTA committee

Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean of UCL Laws, has published a study on ‘Future trade relations between the EU and the UK: options after Brexit’ for the INTA committee (the Trade Committee of the European Parliament).

Professor Eeckhout’s study will be discussed at this afternoon’s INTA committee’s hearing which will be webstreamed.

About the study:

This study analyses the various options for the future trade relations between the EU and the UK, after Brexit. It examines the various models against the canvas of two distinct paradigms: market integration and trade liberalization. It finds that an intermediate model, which would allow for continued convergence and mutual recognition in some sectors/freedoms, but not others, is unavailable and cannot easily be constructed for legal, institutional, and political reasons. 

The stark choice is between a customs union/free trade agreement, or continued internal market membership through the EEA or an equivalent agreement. The study further analyses the effects of Brexit on the UK’s continued participation in the trade agreements concluded by the EU. Notwithstanding a range of complexities, the study finds that such continued participation is not automatic but subject to negotiation.

The study was referenced in The Financial Times Brexit Briefing on Wednesday 28 March 2018.

Read the full study

Watch the web stream