The Freezing of the Unfrozen Moment: The Importance of Timing and Sequencing in Trade Negotiations

Research

The Freezing of the Unfrozen Moment: The Importance of Timing and Sequencing in Trade Negotiations

Shanker Singham

11 June 2018

SUGGESTED

Markets and Morality

Offshore Bet: The benefits of capital mobility

Clamping down on offshore financial centres would not raise tax revenue

6 June 2018

Regulation

Avoiding the risks of regulatory red tape

Brexit provides opportunity to slimline costly regulation of insurance market

15 June 2018

latest

Trade, Development, and Immigration

Unplugging progress: the case against EV tariffs

4 November 2024

UK must initiate negotiations with the EU as soon as possible

https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Unfrozen-briefing-final.pdf

Download (PDF)

The timing and sequencing of trade negotiations is a subject that does not command much attention from commentators. Yet, many of the substantive discussions are in danger of becoming academic if this issue is not better understood.

By contrast, the EU has shown a much stronger mastery of how the timing can be used to their advantage. The EU is the master of running the clock out on negotiations, and of setting up the chessboard to limit the parties’ freedom of action.

Fullscreen Mode

Shanker Singham

Shanker is an IEA Trade Fellow, having previously been the Director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (ITCU) of the Institute of Economic Affairs. As one of the world’s leading trade and competition lawyers, he has worked on the privatisation of the UK electricity market, the transition of the Soviet, Central and Eastern European economies and the apertura in Latin America. He has worked on the accession of Poland and Hungary to the EU, the WTO accessions of a number of countries, including China and Russia. Shanker was educated at St. Paul’s School, London and has an M.A in Chemistry from Balliol College, Oxford University and postgraduate legal degrees in both the UK and US.