Forget Brussels, Brexit’s toughest battleground is the WTO

Features which highlight the challenges facing the United Kingdom as it seeks to forge a new trading relationship with other countries in the world as it seeks to leave the European Union.

The WTO’s head of accession negotiations Maika Oshikawa said that the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union created an unprecedented situation that could take years to resolve.

In an open letter issued on the 8 October 2016 the leaders of the major UK business organisations, the CBI and manufacturers' body the EEF (plus ICC and techUK) said that 'every credible study that has been conducted has shown that [the] WTO option would do serious and lasting damage to the UK economy and those of our trading partners'.

Blog: BlogActiv: Daniel Guéguen, 28.09.16: Brexit: A WTO issue first and foremost http://danielgueguen.blogactiv.eu/2016/09/28/brexit-a-wto-issue-first-and-foremost/

ESO: Background information: Speech. Liam Fox's free trade speech http://www.europeansources.info/record/speech-liam-foxs-free-trade-speech/

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

ICTSD: WTO, 27.06.16: Nothing simple about UK regaining WTO status post-Brexit http://www.ictsd.org/opinion/nothing-simple-about-uk-regaining-wto-status-post-brexit

The Economist, 17.09.16: Brexit and trade. Not so simple http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21707251-britain-will-not-find-it-easy-strike-comprehensive-trade-deals-quickly-not-so-simple

https://www.wto.org/ https://www.wto.org/

BBC News, 08.10.16: Business leaders plead against 'hard' Brexit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37592866

CBI: News, 07.10.16: CBI signs open letter to Government on Brexit negotiations http://www.cbi.org.uk/news/cbi-signs-open-letter-to-government-on-brexit-negotiations/

ESO: Background information: Why a hard Brexit looks likely http://www.europeansources.info/record/why-a-hard-brexit-looks-likely/

The Guardian, 07.10.16: Business leaders urge Theresa May to avoid hard Brexit https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/oct/07/business-leaders-urge-theresa-may-to-avoid-hard-brexit

Blog: Open Europe, 26.10.16: What lessons can the UK draw from the EU-Canada trade deal debacle? http://openeurope.org.uk/today/blog/what-lessons-can-the-uk-draw-from-the-eu-canada-trade-deal-debacle/

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