Finance & Trade

Ex-Minister: TTIP Failure Boosts US-UK Trade Deal Prospects

September 20, 2016

Observing that negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the US and the EU "are not looking good," former UK Trade Minister Lord Francis Maude has called on British and US negotiators to use the underlying basis of the deal to come to a quick free trade deal between the countries following Brexit.
Bank Chief: "Hard" Brexit Would Strip Passporting Rights

September 20, 2016

German Central Bank President Jens Weidmann has warned that UK banks will not be able to maintain their "passporting" rights, or the privilege to conduct operations across EU member states, if Britain does not remain at least in the European Economic Area, which would require acceptance of the free movement of people from the EU.
Bulgarian Official Seeks Accession to Euro, Schengen

September 16, 2016

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev has called for his government and EU officials to take further steps toward permitting Bulgaria to join the euro currency, blamed by some critics as stifling growth in small economies, and the passport-free Schengen travel area.
German Politician Seeks Flexibility on EU Free Movement

September 14, 2016

The head of the German Parliament's foreign affairs committee, Norbert Roettgen, has called for EU leaders to be flexible in negotiations with the UK over the country's acceptance of free movement in return for access to the EU's single market following Brexit, arguing that officials should be considering options "out of the box."
Australian PM Seeks "Strong" Trade Agreement with UK

September 09, 2016

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has confirmed that his government is planning to negotiate a "very strong, very open free trade agreement" with Britain upon the country's departure from the EU.
Banks Call for Interim Deal on "Passporting" in EU

September 02, 2016

Bloomberg reports that representatives of international banks are calling on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to negotiate an interim agreement with the EU to preserve their "passporting" rights to offer services in other EU countries as they seek to prevent a cut-off of their continental operations during a drawn-out Brexit negotiation process.
German Minister: US-EU Trade Talks Have Failed

August 30, 2016

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has asserted that talks between the EU and US to form a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have "de facto failed" because "Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands."
German Minister Predicts Unique EU-UK Relationship

August 25, 2016

In a recent interview, German foreign affairs minister Michael Roth predicted that negotiations over the UK's exit from the EU would likely end in Britain attaining a unique relationship with the bloc that does not resemble the EU's affiliation with countries such as Switzerland and Norway.
EU Countries Seek UK Concessions for Market Access

August 09, 2016

A Bloomberg profile of the "red lines" countries have stated they will not cross in permitting the UK to maintain access to the EU's "single market," including maintaining the principle of free movement of labor, demonstrates a potentially complex, country-by-country approach the UK would have to take in negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal with the bloc.
Expert: EU Will Insist on Free Movement in UK Trade Deal

August 09, 2016

The Guardian reports that former EU Ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Roderick Abbott, has predicted that the EU and UK will sign a post-Brexit trade deal within two years but that the bloc will likely not accept limits to free movement of labor in exchange for Britain's access to the EU "single market."