Finance & Trade

EU Offers UK "Improved Equivalence" Deal for Banks

April 25, 2018

Bloomberg reports that the vague wording of a recent EU negotiating document offering the UK the status of "improved equivalence" to allow its financial services industry access to the EU market after Brexit signals a split among EU member states regarding their desired treatment of British banks.
EU Officials Green-light UK Trade Talks During Transition

April 24, 2018

The Express reports that, in a recent round of UK-EU negotiations over Britain's withdrawal from the EU and future trade between the jurisdictions, EU officials agreed to permit Britain to sign - but not implement - trade deals with other countries during a post-Brexit transition period when the UK would still be bound by EU regulations.
Barnier Rejects UK Approach to Post-Brexit Trade Deal

April 23, 2018

Bloomberg reports that the European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has rejected the major points of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for a UK-EU trade deal after Brexit, indicating the EU needs legal commitments from Britain to maintain EU regulatory standards in all areas to secure a wide-ranging trade agreement.
EC Works Toward Pre-Brexit Capital Markets Union

April 19, 2018

Reuters reports that the European Commission (EC) is working to advance, prior to Brexit, its plans for a Capital Markets Union with a single set of capital market rules applicable across the EU, including by recently announcing a proposal for common rules for the European covered bonds market.
UK Official Pushes for EU Deal on Financial Services

April 17, 2018

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has warned that the British Government could reject any post-Brexit trade deal that does not include provisions for access to financial services, asserting that excluding this area would not result in a "fair and balanced deal."
UK Lawmaker Sets out Basis for EU Customs Union Exit

April 10, 2018

UK Member of Parliament Craig Mackinlay writes that accepting a customs union with the EU would "lead to a total loss of international trade policy" for Britain and calls for reliance on World Trade Organization rules rather than compliance with EU common market regulations as the best way to regain sovereignty and trade on the world stage.
Australia Plans for Post-Brexit Trade Deal with UK

April 09, 2018

Emphasizing the benefits of a "sovereign, open and free" Britain, Australian Trade and Investment Minister Steven Ciobo has announced plans to sign a free trade deal with the UK immediately after the Brexit process concludes.
May Pushes for Inclusion of Financial Sector in EU Trade Deal

March 30, 2018

Reuters reports that UK Prime Minister Theresa May has made clear that she wishes the financial-services sector to be included in any post-Brexit free-trade deal with the EU, despite negative responses to this proposal from EU negotiators.
EU Brexit Adviser Rejects UK's Trade Approach

March 30, 2018

The Guardian reports that Stefaan de Rynck, the main adviser to the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, has opposed UK Prime Minister Theresa May's preferred approach of mutual recognition of standards in a wide-ranging free-trade deal with the EU, stating that the bloc has moved away from this model toward a "single EU rule book" following the financial crisis.
EU Members Oppose Centralization of Euro Authority

March 29, 2018

EUobserver reports that finance ministers from eight EU member states have published a paper opposing French plans to grant broad authority to EU institutions to bail out eurozone members and banks, asserting that "far-reaching transfers of competence to the European level" could undermine trust in the euro project in the wake of the financial crisis.