Canning Papers

Brexit and Latin America: Canning Papers

In a referendum on 23 June 2016, British voters gave a clear response to a simple question: ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?’ By 51.9% to 48.1% they voted ‘no’ – i.e. to leave. The vote led to short-term financial turbulence, political upheaval, a change of prime minister and a cabinet reshuffle. The new government, now led by Theresa May (of the Conservative Party), is committed to delivering the peoples’ will for ‘Brexit’ (British exit), but securing the terms of departure will be a complicated process.

Introduction

It seems clear that there will be a post-Brexit repositioning of British trade and investment flows with the rest of the world, with implications for the UK’s relationship with Latin America. This may include new opportunities for Anglo-Latin American business. Much will depend on the detailed terms of the ‘divorce’ with the EU and the new trading arrangements eventually put in place, details of which will only emerge in time. In this paper, we seek to outline some of the main options, and their potential costs and benefits from the UK’s perspective.

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