Commonwealth free trade

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Commonwealth free trade is the process or proposal of removing barriers of trade between member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. [1] The preferential trade regime within the British Empire continued in some form amongst Commonwealth nations under the Imperial Preference system, until that system was dismantled after World War II due to changes in geopolitics and the pattern of global trade, and the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. The idea of promoting renewed inter-Commonwealth trade emerged in the late 20th century as a response to the evolution of the global economy.[ citation needed ] At one extreme, proposals have been raised for the creation of a multilateral free trade area comprising all member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Today, most Commonwealth countries are pursuing regional integration projects, including the European Union (2 members), Caribbean Community (15 members), Southern African Customs Union (5 members), East African Community (4 members), and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (4 members). However, at the 2005 Summit in Malta, the heads of government endorsed Commonwealth members pursuing free trade amongst one another in order to assist the development of poorest members by allowing them duty-free and quota-free access to the markets of developing and developed countries. [1] The heads of government also endorsed looking into ways the organisation can strengthen dialogue, networking, and collaboration on trade and economic issues between Commonwealth members. [1]

The concept of a multilateral Commonwealth free trade area has recently become popularised in Britain among Eurosceptics who campaigned for withdrawal from the EU prior to the UK's EU membership referendum, which resulted in the decision to leave.[ citation needed ]

History

High Imperialism

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Britain exercised an informal trade system with her colonies and self-governing dominions.

Last years of empire

During the early 20th century, several political figures in Britain, led by Joseph Chamberlain, argued for a policy of Imperial Preference – both to promote unity within the British Empire, and to assure Britain's position as a world power. The policy was controversial as it pitted proponents of Imperial trade with those who sought a general policy of trade liberalisation with all nations.[ citation needed ]

Vision of Imperial Trade Vision of Imperial Trade.jpg
Vision of Imperial Trade

The schism helped contribute to the defeat of Prime Minister Arthur Balfour and his Conservative-Unionist government in the 1906 general election, and had serious ramifications for Conservative prospects in the 1923 and 1929 general elections. One notable victory had been the establishment of the Empire Marketing Board in 1926, which encouraged Britons to 'Buy Empire'.

In 1930, Oswald Mosley and several junior ministers in the Labour government issued the Mosley Memorandum proposing a reform of the British Empire and its Dominions into an autarkic trading bloc, alongside extensive public works programs funded by high loans and better pensions to reverse interwar unemployment and poverty. The Memorandum was rejected by the Cabinet under Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden on grounds of cost and deficit, and was also rejected by the Parliamentary Labour Party and the National Executive Committee. Mosley subsequently departed the Labour Party to form the New Party, and later became the founder of the British Union of Fascists. [2]

Depression and Ottawa Conference

In 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, representatives of Britain, the Dominions, and the Colonies met in Ottawa, Canada, to hold the Commonwealth Conference on Economic Consultation and Co-operation. [3] There had been an initial agreement on Imperial Preference, but a comprehensive agreement failed to materialise. Many of the Dominion leaders attributed this to the attitude of the British Dominions Secretary J. H. Thomas during the negotiations.

In 1935, the Canadian Prime Minister, R. B. Bennett, a Conservative who endorsed Imperial Preference, was replaced by a Liberal, William Lyon Mackenzie King. King responded to pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull and abandoned Imperial Preference.[ citation needed ]

In the case of the Commonwealth, the United States was hostile to it from its inception, notwithstanding the fact that in the cases of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, there was an overwhelming preference for a trade system based on the United Kingdom rather than the U.S.[ citation needed ]

Post-war

The conclusion of World War II drastically affected the prospects for an agreement Commonwealth trade. The United States emerged as the foremost political and economic power, and its policy was to promote generalised free trade, primarily through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944, had also created a direct link between the value of gold and the United States dollar, thereby establishing it as the world's reserve fiat currency under the Bretton Woods system.

The war had also left Britain heavily indebted, economically weakened, and unable to absorb the flow of exports from Commonwealth jurisdictions. The Dominions, primarily Canada, directed their trade more heavily to the US market as a consequence.[ citation needed ]

The idea of enhanced trade between Canada and Britain was explored in the mid-1950s by the Conservative government of Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. The plan, in response to the Canadian government's concern with over-reliance on the United States, was to adopt policies that would see up to 15 per cent of Canada's US exports diverted to the UK. Representatives for both Diefenbaker and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan held exploratory talks, but no agreement was ever reached. [4]

British entry into the EEC

Britain's entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973, and its evolution as a member state of the European Union (EU) had meant that for practical purposes, the United Kingdom could not independently enter into negotiations with Commonwealth states to establish a free trade agreement. In accordance the Articles of the European Union, the Union acted as representative of all its members, collectively.[ citation needed ] However, subsequent to the 23 June 2016 referendum and the eventual departure of Britain from the EU, Britain has become responsible for all of its own negotiations on international trade.

The Commonwealth Effect

The 1997 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Edinburgh was presented with research conducted by Drs. Sarianna Lundan and Geoffrey Jones, and commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The paper, entitled "The 'Commonwealth Effect' and the Process of Internationalisation", [5] measured whether or not Commonwealth jurisdictions enjoyed a qualitative advantage in trade with one another as opposed to equivalent non-Commonwealth nations. Their research found that even in the absence of trade treaties, there was a clear cost advantage in trade between Commonwealth nations, and that the overhead costs of doing business were reduced by up to 15 per cent in comparison to trade outside the Commonwealth.

Commonwealth Advantage

The Commonwealth Advantage program was a shared initiative between the Toronto Branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) [6] which ran from 2004 until 2008. Chaired by the Hon. Sinclair Stevens, a former Canadian International Trade Minister, the campaign was focused on developing strategic partnerships between Commonwealth-based companies.

CHOGM 2005 – Malta

In response to the lack of progress achieved in the Doha round of trade liberalisation negotiations in the World Trade Organization, Commonwealth Heads of Government, at their 2005 Summit in Malta, endorsed the idea of pursuing trade agreements among Commonwealth member states. [1]

After Brexit

Since declaring its intention to withdraw from the European Union, the United Kingdom has begun to quickly negotiate successor agreements with dozens of countries and blocs, including many Commonwealth members. Completed agreements include those with CARIFORUM, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, (March 2019) Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique (October 2019), Kenya (November 2020) and Australia (December 2021). [7] [8] Discussions with Canada were expected to conclude by late 2020.[ citation needed ] Several other nations that do not have free trade with the EU are also in negotiations with the United Kingdom, including New Zealand.[ citation needed ] However, none of these negotiations have involved Commonwealth-wide or free trade or any other broader proposal.

Commonwealth free trade as policy

Because of their very different economic profiles, Commonwealth countries' interests are not always aligned. In principle, resource exporters such as Canada, Australia, and most of the Caribbean and African Commonwealth countries are complementary to resource importers such as the United Kingdom and India.[ citation needed ] However, the historical trade ties between them were based on terms that were dictated by the Colonial Office in Britain. Since the former dominions and colonies have achieved independence, they are free to refuse British initiatives and seek better deals elsewhere. Specifically, agricultural exporters in the Cairns Group (including members Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa) are at odds with the importing countries at the World Trade Organization. These countries pursue independent trade policies.[ citation needed ] Notably Australia (2005) and Canada (1988), and Singapore (2004) have free trade agreements with the United States, and New Zealand (2008) has one with China. Meanwhile, New Zealand and Singapore are already members of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, which Australia, Canada and Malaysia are attempting to join (along with major non-Commonwealth countries). Furthermore, the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia would include Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, India, Australia, and New Zealand.[ citation needed ]

Canada

Commonwealth trade, as such, has not been a notable policy position in Canada since the failed Diefenbaker proposal of the 1950s. Instead, Canada has pursued deep economic integration with the United States on the one hand (including the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988, the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, and the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement in 2018), and a generalised diversification of trade on the other hand including the "third option" policy of the 1970 (a failed attempt to diversify Canada's trade via negotiations with Japan and the European Economic Community). This has been reinforced with a new wave of free trade agreements following NAFTA in 1994, including five Latin American countries, the European Free Trade Association and more recently the European Union, as well the failed Free Trade Area of the Americas in the early 2000s, and negotiations towards the Trans-Pacific Partnership since 2012.

In 2005, Canadian writer and political activist Brent H. Cameron wrote 'The Case for Commonwealth Free Trade', which argued the merits of establishing a trade and investment agreement that would initially combine the most developed member economies (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore) but could eventually include developing members such as India and South Africa. Cameron conceded that UK participation would be difficult with European Union (EU) membership, but suggested that it be included if Britain were to exit that agreement:

"It is proposed that a CFTA membership and expansion be conducted in four distinct phases: Phase 1 would see the creation of an initial grouping of four nations - Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. This grouping represents the most affluent and industrialized economies of the Commonwealth. Combined with stable political, judicial and social institutions, their ability to quickly integrate into a CFTA is vitally important if the organization is to have the ability to expand and succeed." [9]

As of 2013, 75% of Canadian trade takes place with countries which Canada has a free trade agreement, but this does not include any Commonwealth members. As of 2013 Canada is currently in negotiations with the Caribbean Community (primarily Commonwealth countries), as well as India and Singapore. As of 2021 Canada has signed free trade agreements with the European Union (Malta and Cyprus are Commonwealth members). This initially included the UK but following Brexit, a deal was signed directly between Canada and the UK. [10]

New Zealand

Winston Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First political party, called in February 2016 for a Commonwealth Free Trade Area modelled on the Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement between Australia and New Zealand. In his comments, he suggested the inclusion of the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in this area, with the possibility of adding South Africa, India, or others, referring to the putative free trade area as a 'Closer Commonwealth Economic Relations' area, or CCER. [11] CCER was included as New Zealand government policy in the Labour-NZ First coalition agreement. [12] As of February 2021 New Zealand has been negotiating a free trade deal with the UK, following its withdrawal from the EU's Customs Union. [13]

United Kingdom

Policy before Brexit

A map of the countries with which the EU is negotiating, or already has, free trade agreements. Amongst Commonwealth countries, the EU has free trade agreements with South Africa, Cameroon, Zambia, and the 12 commonwealth members of the Caribbean Community. EU free trade agreements.PNG
A map of the countries with which the EU is negotiating, or already has, free trade agreements. Amongst Commonwealth countries, the EU has free trade agreements with South Africa, Cameroon, Zambia, and the 12 commonwealth members of the Caribbean Community.

The United Kingdom has been a member of the European Union and has therefore been unable to negotiate its own trade agreements for several decades. However, after the United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union, it may again be able to negotiate its own trade deals. While the UK has been in the EU it has actively pressured the EU to pursue trade agreements with other Commonwealth countries. [14] In part, this has resulted in the EU initiating negotiations on free trade agreements with a number of Commonwealth countries. At present, Canada and India are both in the midst of negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union. [15] Furthermore, a number of Commonwealth countries, including South Africa, Cameroon, Zambia, and the 12 commonwealth members of the Caribbean Community, already have free trade agreements with the EU. [16] [17] The EU, through the Lome and Cotonou Agreements, have extended some preferential trade access to developing Commonwealth countries. [18]

However, the idea of establishing a free trade area within the Commonwealth has garnered interest in the UK amongst politicians and parties that advocated leaving the European Union who cite the development of a Commonwealth free trade policy as an important step in reshaping the UK's trade policy. The UK Independence Party has included a call for a Commonwealth Free Trade Agreement in its policy manifesto during the 2010 British general election. [19] In addition, some members of the British Conservative Party, including MEP Daniel Hannan and MP Andrew Rosindell, have written extensively on the merits of expanding trade within the Commonwealth and the broader Anglosphere.[ citation needed ]

On October 8, 2012, Tim Hewish and James Styles released their paper "Common Trade, Common Wealth, Common Growth" [20] at the UK Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, England. The following day saw British Foreign Secretary William Hague comment upon how the Commonwealth, which had been 'neglected' by previous UK governments, presented "enormous opportunities" for the nation. [21]

Supporters of Britain's membership of the European Union have criticised the proposal for a Commonwealth free trade area as unlikely in practice to come to fruition. [22]

Policy since Brexit

The policy since the end of Brexit has been to maintain the integrity of a free and independent state regaining its sovereignty.[ citation needed ] It has been upon not just commonwealth free trade[ citation needed ] but also a $20 trillion United States trade deal the UK now having clearly wider interests[ citation needed ] then that of the 26 EU member states, yet Norway, Switzerland, Russia{{citation needed|date=April Turkey, and Ukraine not in the EU but as European nations are of interest for trade.[ citation needed ]

See also

Publications

Books

The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protection [23]

Free Trade Reimagined: The World Division of Labor and the Method of Economics [24]

Free Trade [25]

Free Trade and Prosperity: How Openness Helps the Developing Countries Grow Richer and Combat Poverty [26]

Podcasts

What's the Commonwealth good for?-The Indicator From Planet Money-By Wailin Wong, Darian Woods, Corey Bridges, Kate Concannon [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statute of Westminster 1931</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets the basis for the relationship between the Commonwealth realms and the Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth realm</span> Sovereign state headed by King Charles III

A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state that has Charles III as its monarch and head of state. Charles succeeded his mother, Elizabeth II, as monarch immediately upon her death on 8 September 2022. All the realms are equal with and independent of the others, though one person, resident in the United Kingdom, acts as monarch of each. The phrase Commonwealth realm is an informal description not used in any law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imperial Federation</span> Proposed unification of the British Empire

The Imperial Federation was a series of proposals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to create a federal union to replace the existing British Empire, presenting it as an alternative to colonial imperialism. No such proposal was ever adopted, but various schemes were popular in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and other colonial territories. The project was championed by Unionists such as Joseph Chamberlain as an alternative to William Gladstone's proposals for home rule in Ireland.

Imperial Preference was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire as well as the then British Commonwealth following the Ottawa Conference of 1932. As Commonwealth Preference, the proposal was later revived in regard to the members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Joseph Chamberlain, the powerful colonial secretary from 1895 until 1903, argued vigorously that Britain could compete with its growing industrial rivals and thus maintain Great Power status. The best way to do so would be to enhance internal trade inside the worldwide British Empire, with emphasis on the more developed areas — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa — that had attracted large numbers of British settlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Exceptionally strong relations exist between the Commonwealth realms of Australia and the United Kingdom, marked by historical, cultural, institutional, extensive people-to-people links, aligned security interests, sporting tournaments, and significant trade and investment co-operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

The bilateral relations between Canada and the United Kingdom have yielded intimate and frequently-co-operative contact since Canada gained independence in 1931. Canada was previously self-governing since 1 July 1867, the date that became Canada's independence day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Canada and the European Union (EU) and its forerunners date back to the 1950s. While the relationship is primarily an economic one, there are also matters of political cooperation. Canadians also use English and French — both European languages — as official and majority languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

New Zealand–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between New Zealand and the United Kingdom. New Zealand has maintained a close relationship with Britain, since gaining independence from the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia–Canada relations</span> Bilateral relations

Australia and Canada have a longstanding relationship that has been fostered by both countries' shared history and culture, and links between residents of both countries. The two countries are former British Dominions and have a common head of state in King Charles III. Both countries are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Cairns Group, Commonwealth of Nations, Five Eyes, OECD and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth of Nations</span> Political association of mostly former British Empire territories

The Commonwealth of Nations, often simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which it developed. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations among member states. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1923 Imperial Conference</span>

The 1923 Imperial Conference met in London in the autumn of 1923, the first attended by the new Irish Free State. While named the Imperial Economic Conference, the principal activity concerned the rights of the Dominions in regards to determining their own foreign policy.

A dominion was any of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. With the evolution of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations, the dominions became independent states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free trade agreements of the European Union</span> Overview of free trade agreements in the European Union

The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs) and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others. The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU has an "exclusive competence" to conclude trade agreements. Even so, member states' governments control every step of the process :

CANZUK International is an international advocacy organisation which aims to achieve the free movement of citizens, free trade agreements and foreign policy cooperation between Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom through intergovernmental action and the formation of a proposed diplomatic alliance known as CANZUK. The organisation aims to achieve similar free movement and trade arrangements that exist under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement and the Closer Economic Relations trade agreement between Australia and New Zealand, with Canada and the United Kingdom eventually joining these arrangements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities</span> UK accession to the ECSC, EEC and EAEC

The accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities (EC) – the collective term for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) – took effect on 1 January 1973. This followed ratification of the Accession treaty which was signed in Brussels on 22 January 1972 by the Conservative prime minister Edward Heath, who had pursued the UK's application to the EEC since the late 1950s. The ECSC and EEC would later be integrated into the European Union under the Maastricht and Lisbon treaties in the early 1990s and mid-2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CANZUK</span> Proposed international alliance

CANZUK is a proposed alliance comprising Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as part of an international organisation or confederation similar in scope to the former European Economic Community. This includes increased trade, foreign policy co-operation, military co-operation and mobility of citizens between the four states, tied together by similar economic systems, social values and political and legal systems, in addition to the majority population of each country speaking English. The idea is lobbied by the advocacy group CANZUK International and supported primarily by conservatives. Other supporters include think tanks such as the Adam Smith Institute, the Henry Jackson Society, Bruges Group and politicians from the four countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free trade agreements of the United Kingdom</span> Post-Brexit arrangements

Following its withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom began negotiations on several free trade agreements to remove or reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, both to establish new agreements and to replace previous EU trade agreements. Withdrawal ended 47 years of membership during which all its trading agreements were negotiated by the European Commission on behalf of the bloc. The UK did not actually withdraw from the European Single Market and the European Union Customs Union until 31 December 2020.

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