A majority of UK voters now prioritize rebuilding trade ties with the EU over forging a new economic deal with the US, as research shows that closer relations with the EU would boost the UK economy.
Rebuilding Trade Ties with EU: A Priority for UK Voters
Public opinion is swinging back in favour of the EU, with a clear majority of UK voters wanting the government to focus on rebuilding trade ties with the EU over forging a new economic deal with the US.
The European Union (EU) was established in 1993 as a result of the Maastricht Treaty, which created a single market among its member states.
The EU is a political and economic union that aims to promote peace, stability, and prosperity through economic integration.
With 27 member countries, the EU has a population of over 500 million people and accounts for 25% of global GDP.
The EU's institutions include the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union.
The Economic Case for EU Trade
According to research published this weekend, 53% of voters now believe that a closer relationship with the EU will have a positive effect on the UK economy, while just 13% think it would have a negative impact. ‘This is a significant shift from pre-Brexit polls, which showed a more divided public opinion.’ This is a significant shift from pre-Brexit polls, which showed a more divided public opinion.
The European Union (EU) has a unified trade policy, aiming to promote economic growth and stability among its member states.
The EU's single market allows for the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people between countries.
Key aspects of EU trade include the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides duty-free access to developing countries' exports, and the EU's Common External Tariff (CET).
In 2020, the EU's trade in goods totaled €3.4 trillion, with the largest trading partners being the United States, China, and the UK.
The analysis suggests that people’s economic interests are closely linked to open trade relations with EU neighbours, and that better relations with the EU would boost UK/EU trade in a clearly positive way. In contrast, only 11% of potential Reform voters think that closer EU ties would have a negative impact on trade.
Keir Starmer’s Priorities
When voters were asked what they believed Keir Starmer‘s priorities should be for a UK-EU summit in May, the most popular answer was ‘trade between the UK and the EU’ , which came out narrowly ahead of ‘illegal immigration across the channel’. Even among people who said they would consider voting for Reform UK at the next election, half (48%) said closer EU ties would have a positive impact on trade.
Keir Starmer is a British politician who serves as the Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom.
Born on September 2, 1962, he was previously the Shadow Brexit Secretary and a Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015.
Starmer graduated from the University of Leeds and later earned his law degree from King's College London.
He worked as a human rights lawyer before entering politics.
The US Trade Deal: A Back-burner Issue
When voters were given 20 options and asked to choose four that the government should focus on improving, ‘the UK’s ability to sign new trade deals with the USA‘ came 17th. In contrast, the cost of living was top, followed by immigration and asylum.
The study also found that a majority (62%) understand that the government is seeking a closer relationship with the EU, while far more people think the government is not going far enough to rebuild ties (35%) than those who think the current approach is correct (15%).
Expert Opinions
Experts are calling on the UK government to work with its reliable partners in the EU to remove artificial trade barriers between them. ‘As the last week has so painfully demonstrated, Trump is bad for business, consumers and savers… It is of the utmost urgency that our UK government work with our reliable partners in the EU to remove the artificial trade barriers between us.’ Peter Norris, chair of Virgin Group, said.
Former British ambassador to the US Kim Darroch also warned that the current administration has shown little interest in doing favours for anyone, friend or foe. He said: ‘Under the current administration at least, the US has shown little interest in doing favours for anyone, friend or foe… The global order which has been in place for almost 80 years is changing by the hour and it makes sense for the UK to find stability through deeper cooperation with our allies in Europe while maintaining good relations with Washington.’
Economic Benefits of EU Trade
Independent economic analysis by Frontier Economics found that a commonsense deal with the EU that included deeper alignment on goods and services would secure economic growth of up to 1.5% to UK GDP, offsetting the impact of US tariffs completely for the UK and by a third for the EU.
Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, said: ‘Voters expect the prime minister to come away with more than just a defence pact when he hosts EU leaders in May… They want trade before defence, trade before Channel crossings, and definitely trade with the EU before trade with Donald Trump.’
