Leaving the customs union may lead multinationals to move out of the UK, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. That is the conclusion of research by Paola Conconi. She explains that in a customs union, goods cross borders seamlessly, but in a free trade agreement, border checks are needed to ensure conformity with `rules of origin?. Rules of origin in free trade agreements distort global value chains, her analysis notes: they will be key to the future UK-EU relationship.

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29 July 2018     Paper Number CEPCP535

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This CentrePiece article is published under the centre's Trade programme.