Theresa May says she wants to turn post-Brexit Britain into a global leader in free trade. The prime minister’s ambition is shared by her international trade minister, Liam Fox, who fears that British business may be too “fat”and “lazy” to take advantage of the opportunities created by the trade deals he expects to be signing soon. Meanwhile, the leaders of the world’s major economies reaffirmed their commitment to open markets at this month’s Group of 20 meeting in China, vowing to “reject protectionism, promote global trade and investment, including through further strengthening the multilateral trading...
China's post-Brexit ambition to be a global leader in free trade may be thwarted by a global increase in protectionism, according to a report by two professors at the University of St. Gallen. Despite the G-20 meeting in Britain vowing to "reject protectionism, promote global trade and investment," the use of protectionist measures has risen significantly, especially among G-20 members. Brexit itself has been interpreted as a protest against globalisation, and strong opposition has stalled two big trade initiatives, The Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.