UK Economic Affairs Institute Issues Alternative Plan For Trade Ties With EU After Brexit

The UK Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a Westminster-based free-market think tank, on Monday unveiled an alternative plan for London's trade relations with the European Union and the rest of the world after Brexit, urging the government to drop the Chequers proposal.

LONDON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) The UK Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), a Westminster-based free-market think tank, on Monday unveiled an alternative plan for London's trade relations with the European Union and the rest of the world after Brexit, urging the government to drop the Chequers proposal.

The authors of the report are Shanker Singham, the director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (ITCU) of the IEA, and senior research analyst for IEA's Trade and International Competition Unit Dr. Radomir Tylecote.

"The governing principle of this alternative approach is the pursuit of a competitive and thriving UK economy," the paper reads.

The suggested approach is based on four pillars: making "unilateral moves" in domestic and trade policy; undertaking bilateral agreements with others "concurrently during the EU negotiation,"; seeking membership of major trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and using the WTO membership "to promote wealth creation for the UK economy and the world.

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"We'we made a number of mistakes in this process, most of which have been related to letting ourselves be on the EU's battlefield as opposed to a sort of a wider global field which we should be on because Brexit is a major global event," Singham told the Sky news broadcaster.

The alternative plan was supported by UK former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who described it as "a plan the EU would understand and respect."

Under the Chequers proposal, adopted by the UK cabinet in July, London and Brussels could create a free trade area for goods and maintain a "common rulebook" for all goods. The European Union, however, rejected the proposal as undermining the single market.