What imperial preference can teach us about post-Brexit trade deals

a column by Brian Varian for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal

Brexit has sparked interest in trade agreements between Britain and the Commonwealth. This has a precedent in the Edwardian era, when the Dominions adopted policies of imperial preference toward imports from Britain. This column argues that New Zealand’s policy of imperial preference, enacted in 1903, was ineffective in diverting trade toward Britain, suggesting that trade policies within the British Empire or Commonwealth do not always achieve what they intend.

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