Press
UK companies brace for bumps on Brexit homestretch
02 February 2020
The Wall Street Journal
That would likely mean new barriers to trade are inevitable, said Sam Lowe, a trade-policy expert at the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank. The moment the U.K. gets the right to choose to diverge from the EU on regulations, the EU will treat it as if it already has diverged, he said.
BBC Radio 4: The World This Weekend - Post-Brexit trade policy
02 February 2020
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow a the Centre for European Reform spoke to Mark Mardell about the options that Boris Johnson has for new free trade agreements post-Brexit (from 13 mins).
Brexit: How did we get here and how could it have played out differently?
01 February 2020
The Independent
Three people with a good claim to have predicted it first are Charles Grant, Denis MacShane and Patrick O’Flynn. Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, wrote in March 2005 about what would happen if Britain voted No in the referendum Tony Blair had promised.
We still don’t know what Brexit means
01 February 2020
Financial Times
The issue with Mr Javid trying to reassure businesses about the UK’s relationship with the EU is that, as Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform has pointed out, flexibility does not come for free. By reserving the right to diverge from EU rules — even if we do not exercise it — the UK will face significant costs, loss of market access and burdens for business.
Britain leaves the European Union, but Brexit is far from over
01 February 2020
Bloomberg
“Many questions remain about the future relationship,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. “We have left the EU, but Brexit lives on.”
Brightblue podcast: Where does Britain go next: The US or the EU?
01 February 2020
This edition of our podcast asks where does Britain go next: The US or the EU? We are joined by Dr Alan Mendoza, Director of the Henry Jackson Society, and Sam Lowe, Researcher at the Centre for European Reform.
¿Mejorará la economía británica tras el Brexit?
31 January 2020
Expansion
John Springford, economista jefe del Centro para la Reforma Europea, ha declarado que la expectativa de que la economía británica mejore notablemente después del Brexit "no tiene sentido": "Para empezar, no hay pruebas que demuestren que llegarán muchas inversiones; lo cierto es que la situación será bastante difícil y que se reducirá la actividad de las empresas que dependen de la libre circulación de personas o del comercio sin fricciones".
2020 will be the year of the UK-EU-US trade triangle
31 January 2020
The Telegraph
Britain needs to “drop its starry-eyed optimism”, according to Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “The UK will not get an easy ride just because of its so-called special relationship with the US. If the UK resists US demands, particularly in the area of agriculture and food hygiene, then concluding a comprehensive free trade agreement could take years.”
What would a Canada-style trade deal with the UK look like?
31 January 2020
Politico
Johnson has stressed several times that he’s looking for a "super Canada-plus" agreement with the EU rather than a closer economic partnership. “When they say Canada, they don’t mean literally Canada. They mean an equivalent balance of access and obligation,” Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said.
Al Jazeera Arabic: How the EU is adapting to the UK leaving
31 January 2020
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER’s spoke to Al Jazeera about how the EU is adapting to the UK leaving.
Explainer: Brexit 'done' at last - now for the hard part
30 January 2020
Reuters
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform think-tank said Britain’s desire for full control of domestic regulation and trade policy will significantly limit the scope of any deal.“At best, the EU and UK are on course to conclude a free trade agreement that removes all tariffs and quotas, but creates significant new administrative and regulatory barriers to trade in both goods and services,” he said.
We are already £900 a year worse off because of Brexit
30 January 2020
Metro
Deputy director of the Centre for Economic Reform, John Springford, said that losses in the nation’s income would be felt by everyday Brits, who are now hundreds of pounds poorer per year.He told Metro.co.uk : [The research] means that the average person in Britain would be 3% richer if remain had won.
Post-Brexit Britain may find trade deals hard to negotiate
30 January 2020
The Economist
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform think-tank points to Japan, Australia and New Zealand as partners that might set a template for other deals. The government is keen on Japan, though one concern is that it cannot do better than the EU since the terms of the EU’s deal requires it to get the same benefits.
The pursuit of free trade
30 January 2020
The Investors Chronicle
Sam Lowe, a trade specialist at the Centre for European Reform, a pro-EU think tank, is more blunt: “The problem facing Johnson and his global-Britain outriders is that globalisation has stalled. There could hardly be a more challenging environment for leaving the EU’s single market and customs union and attempting to rebuild a trade policy from scratch.”
Brexit: Londyn wychodzi, angielski zostaje
30 January 2020
Rzeczpospolita
UE będzie obstawać przy swoich priorytetach, czyli handlu i współpracy w dziedzinie bezpieczeństwa. Bo to obszary, w których brak porozumienia miałby najpoważniejsze konsekwencje – mówi „Rzeczpospolitej" Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, ekspertka think tanku Centre for European.
Das Brexit-Experiment: Was bringt den Briten die neue Freiheit?
30 January 2020
Handelsblatt
„Das war von Anfang an das Problem in der Brexit-Debatte“, sagt Sam Lowe, Handelsexperte bei der Londoner Denkfabrik Centre for European Reform. „Wenn man die Brexiteers fragt, welche Regeln sie denn abschaffen wollen, kommt entweder etwas Triviales oder gar nichts.
A Brexit trade deal can be done but new cliff-edges await, warns trade expert
30 January 2020
EurActiv
The UK may be just hours away from walking through the EU’s exit door but when it comes to trade, the journey is only just about to start, according to Sam Lowe, one of Westminster’s leading trade experts.
BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room: How to do a trade deal
30 January 2020
For the first time in decades the UK will now negotiate its own trade deals. David Aaronovitch explores our options and likely outcomes. Free trade deals can take years and require hundreds of highly skilled staff in what are described as the biggest games of poker you can play.
Musimy bronić rządów prawa w całej Unii
29 January 2020
Polityka
Komisja Europejska powinna jak najszybciej wdrożyć mechanizm monitorowania zasady rządów prawa we wszystkich krajach członkowskich, a nie skupiać się tylko na tych, w których sprawy poszły za daleko.
CER podcast: Brexit bulletin special
29 January 2020
In this special Brexit episode of the CER podcast, Charles Grant explains why the CER is still needed after Brexit; Sam Lowe discusses the future of UK-EU trade; and Ian Bond explores the fate of UK foreign policy.