13 Feb 2017
WTI provides answers to British parliament Brexit inquiry
WTI Fellow Christian Häberli submitted written replies to the Brexit Inquiry at the House of Lords, the upper house of the British parliament, at the beginning of February.
Dr Häberli was asked to respond to three questions from the Lords’ European Union Energy and Environment Sub-Committee.
The questions were: 1. Can the UK unilaterally construct its own WTO Schedule of Commitments in agricultural products after Brexit? If the UK does construct its own Schedule, will this be legally binding on other WTO members, including the EU; 2. To what extent is it possible to determine the EU-28’s current commitments in agricultural products in the WTO for (a) Tariffs (b) Tariff rate quotas (c) domestic support and (d) export subsidies for agricultural products? What impact might this have on (a) the UK’s negotiations with the EU and (b) the UK’s negotiations with other WTO members?; and 3. To what extent can the UK restrict the import of agricultural products because they do not meet the same quality and safety standards as those produced in the UK? If the UK adopted a precautionary approach to the import of agricultural products into the UK, to what extent would such an approach be compatible with WTO rules?
Click here to view Dr Häberli’s written answers.