Can the UK Negotiate a New Kind of Free Trade Arrangement?

Abstract

This paper considers the possible post-Brexit trading relationships between the UK and EU, and analyses the likelihood of achieving them. The main conclusion is that it would be difficult or impossible to negotiate a special new agreement, but that all the UK’s objectives would be achieved if the UK would join the European Economic Area (EEA). The author argues that the EEA offers the best, and perhaps the only, solution, both for the UK as a whole and for Scotland and both parts of Ireland.

Keywords: Brexit, UK, EEA, European Economic Area, Northern Ireland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Article 50, Free Trade, FTA, Trade Relationship, EU, European Union