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Economics & Finance Brexit Customs EU free trade government No deal trade

Not only will a trade deal with Europe take a long time—it should

It takes years to work out what is most important and how to achieve it in international negotiations

By David Henig  
November 26, 2019

His stated aim of completing a trade deal next year is not just unfeasible but undesirable

The commitment is clear, even in a Conservative manifesto of frequent vagueness. “We will negotiate a trade agreement next year—one that will strengthen our Union—and we will not extend the implementation period beyond December 2020.” There continues to be much discussion about whether such a timetable is feasible, given the EU has never concluded a major trade agreement in anything close to that time and the UK has for…

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David Henig

David Henig was Assistant Director at the Department for International Trade. He is now Uk Director at the European Centre For International Political Economy

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