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Sam Lowe Profile picture
Sam Lowe
@SamuelMarcLowe
Partner, @FlintGlobal. Trade and Market Access. Senior visiting research fellow, @policyatkings. Subscribe to my newsletter, Most Favoured Nation, below.
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Jun 16, 2022 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
I was specifically going out of my way to ignore everything to do with this, but oh no I can’t have nice things. Do you all want some background on this? Like. Do you really?
May 31, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
For those who missed it, I am reliably informed that this is a pretty accurate representation of what UK wants for the NI protocol. As to whether an agreement is possible. I think there are viable solutions for many of the problems faced by businesses.

But how to frame it. Could the UK accept an agreement that gives it much of what it wants but sees no rewriting of the protocol?
Apr 22, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
About to attempt the ol’ Stansted-Heathrow airport transfer Friends, it is not going well.
Apr 9, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Aha — excellent!

UK removing all tariffs on imports from Ukraine — hopefully other countries do the same. For the people tweeting at me without checking, yes the EU and UK do already have a trade agreement with Ukraine, but it’s not fully duty and quota free.
Mar 27, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I currently find myself knowing far more about the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's guidance on outsourcing involving cloud computers than I ever expected, or wanted, to know. "Oh we don't require the onshoring of financial data."

Sure you don't, Australia. Sure you don't.
Feb 28, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
The UK-New Zealand FTA text has landed:

gov.uk/government/col… And here is a side letter cementing the UK's recognition of Ngāti Toa Rangatira’s guardianship of the Haka Ka Mate

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
Feb 18, 2022 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Hasn’t this already been launched about four times already? But yes, it’s fine. From February: cityam.com/mordaunt-to-me…
Feb 2, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Living for the drama. To be more serious — while I don’t think UK wanted this to happen right now (what w all else going on in the world), difficult to see what gov’s next move is. From domestic politics perspective (I know I know, but it’s how it is) no way Whitehall can intervene to impose controls.
Dec 9, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
UK-Singapore digital agreement done, according to this press release.

(Not quite clear if it is done done or simply done with the aim to soon be done or a just a little bit done)

gov.uk/government/new… But anyway -- good!
Nov 18, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I have just published my first note for @FlintGlobal looking to answer the question on everyone’s lips?

“Is it in the PM’s interest to start a trade war with the EU in the run up to Christmas?”

flint-global.com/blog/brexit-th… Basically, if things go well in the negotiations this week. My optimism levels get turned up a notch.

flint-global.com/blog/brexit-th… Image
Nov 16, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Who da thunk it

wto.org/english/res_e/… This WTO report is full of really interesting charts.

Here's another one:
Nov 11, 2021 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I think I've finally got my head around the NI medicines issue, and the EU's non paper proposals.

ec.europa.eu/info/sites/def… Basic problem: Under the protocol, UK market authorisations for medicines not recognised in NI.

This means that a company looking to place a medicine on the NI market needs an EU authorisation, and for the authorisation holder (responsible for batch certification and release)
Oct 31, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Despite everyone knowing Euston and trains would be carnage on the day everyone wanted to go to Glasgow, giving ample time to prepare, it is of course carnage. Should have flown.
Oct 27, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
A (large) leaving present from my lovely @CER_EU colleagues just arrived. It turns out they know me really rather well. It will join this beast in our living room.
Oct 20, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Slightly surprised the Brazil figure is so low — didn’t realise Brits had particularly high awareness or strong opinions re: Brazilian politics. In unsurprising news I can’t find the actual survey on DIT’s website.

(Newspapers, I beg you: **please** link to original documents.)
Oct 9, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
I’m still struggling to work out what exactly it is that was agreed in the withdrawal agreement and TCA that has convinced lots of people that a belligerent approach to negotiations delivers the most success. In the withdrawal agreement the UK ended up signing up to a de facto customs and regulatory border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, because flexibility for Great Britain was (and still is) deemed more important than the economic uniformity of the UK.
Oct 4, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
General argument in favour of artificially constraining labour supply = labour costs go up = increased incentive to invest in alternatives (automation etc) = eventually an increase in productivity.

But how do you displace labour in logistics sector? Self-driving trucks? Trains? Because I’m a bit sceptical about self-driving HGVs and the UK seems to have a bit of a problem investing in new railway infrastructure …
Sep 25, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
I think that while creating new visas for European HGV drivers could help a little, for the most part it won’t be that easy to lure people back. Didn’t have to be this way — government could have listened to the warnings of industry and made very different decisions from the off. (Obviously I think the UK should at least try.)
Sep 14, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
That’s a … quote isn’t it. FWIW, I think people expect a bit too much of DIT. And it’s done a pretty good job of doing what it’s realistically been able to do.
Aug 10, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
I wondered when this would happen! Large quantities of rare earth in Greenland, matters complicated by fact it’s all mixed up with uranium … which has led to local opposition. See the recent elections for example of politics here: reuters.com/article/us-gre…
Aug 5, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
If a think tanker writes a really long report but no one ever reads it was it ever really written? One of the best pieces of advice I was given (I think by @MikeChilds1) is that you should spend as much time trying to get the person/people you want to read your work to read it as you spend researching and writing it.