Press
Brexit red tape reality dawns on firms bracing for origin burden
30 July 2020
Bloomberg Quint
Negotiators may propose that Britain joins an agreement it has with several other nearby countries, including Turkey, Switzerland and Norway, known as the PEM convention, where inputs are recognized as local between all the parties, according to Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. Joining would address some of the concerns of UK businesses, Lowe said.“The dream scenario is that the EU accepts the UK’s proposal, but that seems unlikely,” he said.
CER podcast: The EU's increasingly troubled relationship with China
29 July 2020
Growing economic tensions, COVID-19, cyber attacks, disinformation, intellectual property theft, a security clamp down in Hong Kong, treatment of the Uyghurs and restrictions on Huawei:
I'm optimistic about a Brexit deal – despite the gloomy outlook
28 July 2020
The Guardian
Both Brussels and London have moved in talks, and both grasp the political advantages of even a minimal free trade agreement.
Europe, the US and Huawei: Do hang up!
27 July 2020
Encompass
China and the US are in conflict over trade, human rights, cyber security and much more. Europe risks getting caught in the crossfire as the US tries to prevent the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from dominating global 5G networks and China threatens retaliation against countries that shut Huawei out.
Boris Johnson veut-il sortir le Royaume-Uni de son isolement?
26 July 2020
Le Journal du Dimanche
"Theresa May était enthousiaste à l'idée de trouver un accord ambitieux en matière de diplomatie et de sécurité, rappelle Ian Bond du Centre for European Reform.
Boris Johnson's dream of a 'Global Britain' is turning into a nightmare
24 July 2020
CNN
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform, thinks Johnson and President Donald Trump could agree to a slimmed-down deal that "can be held up as a political victory on both sides of the Atlantic." But such an agreement won't move the needle from an economic standpoint.
Ten months to save the UK: Boris faces May deadline to defeat Sturgeon - warning
23 July 2020
Express
Charles Grant, Director of Centre for European Reform, said Number 10 “are worried about Scotland” because Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party could do “very well” in the May 2021 Holyrood elections. He said Unionists are “praying” for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to strike a Brexit deal to save the future of the UK.
UK abandons hope of US trade deal by end of year
22 July 2020
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the idea of a trade agreement has “dropped down the government’s agenda” in recent months. He said it was “pie in the sky” to have ever thought the two sides could reach a rapid deal — unless the UK conceded to Washington on everything from agriculture and scrapping its digital sales tax, to giving the US what it wanted on pharmaceutical patents and procurement. “It was always hard to see the government steamrolling that through,” said Mr Lowe.
Sky News: Post-Brexit talks between the UK and the European Union are still ongoing as deal has not yet been made
22 July 2020
“I don’t think we should rule out that there will be a trade agreement...we should take statements released with five months to go suggesting...talks have broken down with a pinch of salt", Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Refor tells Sky News.
Fears EU-UK trade talks will bear no fruit until autumn
21 July 2020
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, says not only would it lead to tariffs and quotas at the border but it would lead to wider complications to the post-Brexit relationship.“A free trade agreement increases the scope for bilateral easements,” he said, citing side-deals on issues such as financial services and data adequacy that would be easier to strike after a harmonious trade deal with Brussels.
Morning Trade UK: Pompeo in town - Brexit gaps - Trade Bill vote
21 July 2020
Politico
“I don’t think the talks will fall apart — but the negotiators are clearly at an impasse,” Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank told Morning Trade UK. “The negotiators, and particularly David Frost, have reached the limits of what they are able to achieve … this is a political negotiation, not a technocratic one.”
Safety experts warn that US trade deal must not include dangerous American cars
19 July 2020
The Independent
Sam Lowe, a trade policy expert and senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told The Independent he would expect a US trade deal to lift tariffs on American cars but that this might not lead to more on the roads. "The main reason US cars aren’t more popular in the UK and Europe isn’t necessarily tariffs or the need to meet more stringent standards, it’s that British consumers don’t like them very much," he said.
CER podcast: Belarus may be less stable than it appears
17 July 2020
Lukashenka is certain to win Belarus’s presidential election. But his suppression of dissent poses a dilemma for the EU: punishing Lukashenka could help Russia to extend its sway over the country.
Brexit vote hits leave areas the hardest
16 July 2020
Financial Times
John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, which cancelled publication of a similar national estimate of the cost of Brexit, said that the technique would still be valuable for assessing the relative performance of different areas. “Even if the magnitudes are questionable,” he said, “if you are satisfied the comparators are reasonable, it is as good a way as any of getting a sense of the Brexit effect”.
London calling Huawei out
16 July 2020
Aspenia Online
After much deliberation, in mid-July the British government decided to implement restrictions on the role of controversial Chinese company Huawei in the UK’s next-generation 5G telecommunications network.
As Bulgaria and Croatia bid to join the euro, is there life in the currency yet?
15 July 2020
The Telegraph
“Usually when countries join a strong and stable currency they are trying to import macroeconomic stability and import the credibility of bigger countries,” explains Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. He says smaller economies, such as Bulgaria and Croatia, can enjoy more stability, intensify trade links and gain political sway by getting a seat at the euro table.
China says those who see China as hostile are wrong
15 July 2020
The New York Times
"Those who see China as systematic rival or as a potentially hostile state have got it all wrong - they have chosen the wrong target and they are heading in the wrong direction," Ambassador Liu Xiaoming told the Centre for European Reform.
"China has never interfered in other countries' internal affairs and we strongly oppose interference in China's internal affairs by any country," he said, adding that the security law had been "warmly welcomed by Hong Kong residents".
He said some European politicians had made "irresponsible" comments on the law.
"China has never interfered in other countries' internal affairs and we strongly oppose interference in China's internal affairs by any country," he said, adding that the security law had been "warmly welcomed by Hong Kong residents".
He said some European politicians had made "irresponsible" comments on the law.
China says UK's 'dumping' of Huawei will hit investment
15 July 2020
Reuters
China said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 5G ban on Huawei was disheartening and that other Chinese businesses had followed how the telecoms giant was “dumped” so investment would be hurt. “Now I would even say this is not only disappointing - this is disheartening,” Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming told the Centre for European Reform, adding that Britain had “simply dumped this company”.
China fury: Beijing unleashes new threat to UK and EU over 'scapegoating' - tensions erupt
15 July 2020
Express
Speaking at a Centre for European Reform webinar, the Chinese ambassador to the UK urged European leaders to cooperate in the global fight against coronavirus. He warned "scapegoating is unhelpful to solving problems" and urged China and Europe to remain "major players" in the COVID-19 fight. He said: "War peace and stability are under great threat. The pandemic has revealed a weak link in global public health government systems.
Post-Brexit border checks to cost businesses £13 billion
14 July 2020
The Times
Sam Lowe, a trade policy expert at the Centre for European Reform, said: “This demonstrates that no matter what happens [by] the end of the year the cost to business of trading with the EU will be notably higher than it is today.”