The Sound of Economics EU-UK trade and the Trump effect
May 26, 2025
Ignacio García Bercero, a trade policy expert at Bruegel and former European Commission official, and Heather Grabbe, also from Bruegel, specializing in EU-UK relations, discuss the implications of the recent EU-UK summit. They analyze the challenges and prospects of post-Brexit trade ties and the impact of U.S. tariffs under Trump. Exciting topics include new agreements in energy, fishing, and youth mobility, along with innovative carbon pricing strategies, highlighting the necessity for cooperative approaches amidst shifting geopolitical landscapes.
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UK Chooses Regulatory Alignment with EU
- The UK prioritizes regulatory alignment with the EU on sanitary and phytosanitary standards despite maintaining US ties.
- This reflects a strategic choice for closer EU-UK trade cooperation amid US-EU trade tensions.
Geopolitics Drive EU-UK Deal Ambition
- The EU-UK deal is more ambitious than expected due to geopolitical pressures like US trade wars and Russian aggression.
- Security and defense partnership with UK participation underscores shared European concerns amid US uncertainties.
EU Deal More Substantive than US
- The UK-EU trade relationship dwarfs UK-US trade in volume and integration, making the EU deal far more significant.
- Technical details on food and energy standards in the EU deal deeply affect economies compared to the US deal's symbolic nature.