Nations allowing a deluge of Russian money are a threat to our global democracies SHANKER SINGHAM In the month since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has come together to face what could be the greatest military crisis since the beginning of the Cold War. This has clearly wrong-footed Putin and the invasion has not gone according to his plan. This geopolitical explosion has been a long time in the making, [...]
Strong trade ties with India could put the UK in pole position to join the CPTPP and face up to China Boris Johnson has cancelled his planned visit to India after coronavirus cases spiralled out of control. Moving the conversation online, in the way many of us have done this past year, in no way diminishes the importance of the discussions he and Prime Minister Modi will have in the coming weeks. Their dialogue is occurring [...]
Western governments should have been ready for Huawei In the late 1990s, I represented Lucent Technologies, a firm focused on delivering telecommunications equipment which had been spun out of AT&T. At the time, in addition to the more familiar competitors such as Nortel Networks and Alcatel, we faced an additional threat — a relatively new Chinese competitor called Huawei. Huawei was able to [...]
We must not get stuck in an EU thicket January 22, 2020 Boris Johnson’s victory in the General Election means Britain will now, finally, after three years of dithering and obstruction, be free to set out on its own path of trade-energised growth and prosperity. Rather surprisingly, the UK’s political classes and business seem shocked that the UK will not be aligning to European regulations. They overlook [...]
To win the Brexit prize, ditch Chequers and go back to the drawing board September 14, 2018 In all the confusion and turbulence that has accompanied the negotiations with the EU in recent months, we seem to have forgotten the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech, and in particular its important reference to what Theresa May called the Brexit “prize”. That prize must include the ability to improve our own domestic economy: by [...]
To win the Brexit prize, ditch Chequers and go back to the drawing board September 14, 2018 In all the confusion and turbulence that has accompanied the negotiations with the EU in recent months, we seem to have forgotten the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech, and in particular its important reference to what Theresa May called the Brexit “prize”. That prize must include the ability to improve our own domestic economy: by [...]
Donald Trump’s ambiguous trade policy is a massive opportunity for Britain to catalyse the creation of a new Prosperity Zone November 10, 2016 Much ink has been expended on what a Donald Trump presidency will mean for trade. He has promised at various times in his campaign to slap 45 per cent tariffs on China and Mexico, to pull the US out of Nafta and the WTO, and has railed against the TransPacific Partnership. Naturally many people have assumed [...]
The Mayor of London has opted to protect privilege not competition September 14, 2016 Sadiq Khan’s crackdown on London’s private hire industry is a sop to a privileged monopoly that distorts competitive markets and fails to defend consumer interests. As private hire services make inroads into London’s black cab monopoly, the case to protect them from decline and enforce consumer safety may sound reasonable. But Khan’s reforms go beyond safety and are [...]
Post Brexit Britain can get a much better US trade deal than the EU’s failing TTIP August 30, 2016 Many people are now questioning the viability of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the free trade deal under discussion between the US and the European Union. Over the weekend, German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel stated that the TTIP talks had collapsed, despite the protestations of his Chancellor and the United States Trade Representative Michael [...]