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Politics Brexit European Union trade WTO

Brexit talks must reflect the simple fact that Britain does not need the EU

An Australian trade expert says we will thrive on the outside

By Alan Oxley  
September 25, 2018

David Davis MP (left) and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images

Brexit is becoming an increasingly unhappy experience for Theresa May. First the European Commission rebuffed her strategy. Then the Brexiteers seized the chance to hammer their message that she was anyway conceding too much. And now, a cleaner alternative—a formal free trade agreement with the European Union, such as the agreement recently completed with Canada—is reportedly being proposed by the Brexit advocates in cabinet.

This was predictable. In retrospect, it is clear that 10 Downing Street and those arguing for some…

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Alan Oxley

Alan Oxley is a former Australian Trade Ambassador to the GATT (the predecessor to the WTO), principal of ITS Global, an advisor to the IEA on trade policy and analyst of trends in the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group

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