LSE Law Brexit special #4: Trade after Brexit

Leaving the European Union has been characterised as potentially one of the greatest protectionist acts in the United Kingdom’s history. The European Union has intimated that any trading relationship must offer the United Kingdom significantly worse terms of trade than it currently enjoys. Alongside this, the United Kingdom has no ambition to be either part of the customs union or the single market. This would put it on the periphery of European trade. Only a few States from the former Soviet Union would enjoy worse terms than it.