Canning Paper | Brexit and Latin America

Brexit and Latin America: Canning Papers

07th Sep 2016

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.

More recent canning papers

Opportunities for an enhanced UK-Latin America relationship

The election of a new Labour Party government in July 2024 opens up possibilities for reviewing and refreshing diplomatic and trade relations between the UK and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In our latest Canning Paper, Canning House sets out what some of those opportunities may be.

What does the US election mean for Latin America?

The 5 November United States presidential election is set to be a tight race, with the vote in a small number of swing states likely to be decisive. In its latest Canning Paper, Canning House considers the potential impact of either leading candidate's victory on Latin America, and how the region sees the contest for the White House.