Trade Bites

In this episode, we're reflecting on the Brexit referendum that happened 10 years ago this month and changed the UK's trade policy trajectory overnight. Our speakers examine how Brexit affected UK trade and UK attitudes to trade, as well as the approach to and the outcomes of autonomous UK trade policy. The discussion also considers the future and where Britain may go next as it navigates a chaoti...

In this podcast, we examine the regional dimensions of UK trade policy. Trade affects everyone in every part of the United Kingdom, and the primary responsibility for external trade policy lies with the central UK government in London. However, a lot of the policy areas that are directly affected by trade, most notably agriculture, are controlled by the devolved administrations in Belfast, Cardiff...

What did MC14 deliver for developing countries in Africa? In this episode, His Excellency Geraldo Saranga, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the WTO and His Excellency Ambassador Professor Muhammadou Kah, Ambassador of The Republic of the Gambia to the WTO, share their views on the outcomes of the 2026 WTO Ministerial Conference. To what extent was the MC14 agenda really ali...

The US Government has put tariffs front and centre of its economic policy since Trump's second administration began at the start of last year. After implementing tariffs in April 2025, the US has subsequently raised and lowered tariffs and negotiated exemptions and add-ons for different countries and different sectors. In February this year, the implementation of the ‘Liberation Day’ reciprocal ta...

President Trump’s keen concern for the US’s substantial trade deficit with the rest of the world played a key role in driving the US tariffs imposed last year, which have disrupted trade and upended the international rules-based trade system. In this episode we ask why is Trump so concerned by a trade deficit, how worried should a country be if it is importing more than it exports, what are the ec...

In today's episode, we examine the result of the World Trade Organization's recent ministerial conference in Cameroon, MC14. It ended with no agreement on WTO reform, and no agreement either to continue a long-standing moratorium on imposing import duties on electronic transmissions. Where does MC14 leave the WTO as an organization? Joining this discussion with our host Chris Horseman (Borderlex)...

In this episode, we look at proposals for the UK to join a customs union with the EU. We clarify what is a customs union and discuss whether could it improve trade between the EU and the UK and boost to our economy, as well as what the EU’s position might be. Providing a clear assessment of the pros and cons of customs union membership between the EU and the UK are Michael Gasiorek (CITP / Univers...

This episode discusses the reset package under negotiation between the UK and the EU. Last May, the two sides agreed to align their regulatory systems in a number of sectors, aimed at minimising friction at the border, and thereby stimulating bilateral trade. It will include regulatory alignment for agriculture and food products, linking of emissions trading schemes, integration of the EU and UK e...

Critical minerals are ‘critical’ to the manufacture of vital 21st century products as electric vehicles, mobile phones, solar panels, clean technology, and defence equipment. These mineral reserves are also found in considerable quantities outside of non-Western countries. China has been quick off the mark in building out the processing and manufacturing infrastructure that gives them supply chain...

In January, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries who opposed his demand to take control of Greenland. Whilst this threat was later dropped, following discussions with NATO SC, what is the role of trade policy in the face of economic coercion? This podcast discusses the use of trade policy instruments in a coercive manner, the issues hanging over EU-US and UK-US trade rela...

This episode of Trade Bites looks at competition and industrial policy. China's strong industrial policies and state-backed dominance have fuelled global competition. Recently, this has led to the US, Europe and developed countries, including the UK, implementing much more activist industrial policies to support their own producers and to ensure supplies of strategically important goods. Is a leve...

In today's episode of Trade Bites, we're discussing the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin (PEM) and whether the UK should join. The PEM makes it easier for UK firms to use inputs from the PEM countries and still get duty free access to the EU, and all the other PEM countries. Having left the EU, the UK is not part of the PEM. The UK Government has launched a consultation on whet...

What does the British public think about trade? In a democracy, what people think or feel about any area of policy really matters. Trade policy is an external wing of economic policy, and everyone cares about whether the government's actions are making them richer or poorer, but we also care about how trade is interlinked with climate change, the environment, food standards, or animal welfare. In...

In this special extended episode, recorded in front of a live audience at the World Trade Organization Public Forum, we consider the present state of the multilateral trading system and the role of the WTO. The majority of international trade, around 72%, is being conducting on WTO terms. But pretty much every nation has had to face the consequences of a unilateral withdrawal from Most Favoured Na...

This podcast discusses conformity assessment which is important to ensure manufacturers of industrial goods comply with international standards, and that compliance is verified. The issue of mutual recognition of conformity assessment comes into play for exports. If country A recognizes that country B's conformity assessment regime is as good as its own, then exporters in country B should only hav...

July 20, 2025, is six months since Trump’s inauguration for a second term in the White House. Since then, all previous norms of trade engagement have gone out of the window with the imposition (or threat) of tariffs on goods at rather arbitrary levels and out of line with WTO rules. Almost every supplier country now has its own personalised tariff rate – and some of the world’s least developed cou...

In May, Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched a reset of the EU-UK relationship which included an agreement to begin negotiations on a deal on agri-food standards - an ‘SPS agreement’. The talks offer the prospect of a big reduction in the bureaucratic restrictions that have festooned cross-Channel agri-food trade since Brexit, but there are still a lot of qu...

Last month, Britain thus became the first trade partner to do a deal with the new Trump administration. The deal was limited in its scope - but nevertheless highly significant, given that Trump has hitherto been keener on imposing tariffs than removing them. Britain won some exemptions from new US tariffs on cars and steel, while the US will be granted new access to the UK’s agricultural markets....

Steel is needed to manufacture everything from aircraft carriers to ironing boards. It is critical for construction and defence and contributes significantly to the national economy. But many countries can produce steel much more cheaply than the UK – notably China, which accounts for more than 50% of global steel production. Plus, the market is distorted by many factors, notably Chinese state pro...

The US has re-set its tariffs on goods imports according to a formula based on the size of that country’s trade surplus with the US – a move which has thrown all previous norms out the window. We are no longer in a world where tariffs and other aspects of trade policy are negotiated multilaterally – with the World Trade Organization as chief overseer. So where do recent developments leave the glob...

This podcast looks at the recently concluded UK-India free trade agreement deal and the impact for UK exporters now that India’s high tariffs on goods like cars and Scotch whisky will be reduced, and that British businesses will be able to bid for some Indian government contracts for the first time. For India, the UK will remove most of its tariffs on Indian goods, and it will be a little easier f...

When long-established international trade flows get disrupted, it's not always easy to predict the consequences. Given the adjustments that the UK is continuing to have to make as a result of leaving the EU single market a few years ago, and now President Trump’s global 25% tariff surcharge on imports of cars and components, the challenges are starting to pile up for Britain's automotive sector. H...

The real growth area for trade is in digitally-delivered services. But where there is trade, there is trade regulation. If countries regulate in ways which diverge from each other, then there are digital borders. This podcast discusses how a more streamlined and efficient digital trade environment could be created, why different countries have different regulations, and the prospects of a digital...

There are now twelve new style freeports in the UK, set up under the previous Conservative government which was convinced that freeports would represent a major Brexit dividend for Britain. There are also eight regional investment zones in the UK with the promise of more to come. This podcast puts investment zones and freeports under an analytical lens to determine what they are and how they work....

Industrial policy is coming to dominate the global trade landscape and is massively important in political and economic terms as well. Today, as the world becomes a more geopolitically fractured place, governments are taking a very close interest in their manufacturing sectors to ensure they are attracting the investment that will allow them to hold the keys to a green economy of the future. It's...