Trade Deals Retains a Hurdle for ‘Brexit’ Talks -<br />By PRASHANT S. RAOMAY 16, 2017<br />LONDON — The European Union’s highest court ruled on Tuesday<br />that a 2014 trade deal with Singapore required the approval of parliaments from the bloc’s 28 members, leaving in place an obstacle to future negotiations — including talks with Britain over its withdrawal from the union.<br />“It reinforces the principle that the E. U.<br />does not have exclusive competence here.”<br />“Negotiating trade deals is complicated,” she added, “and this judgment will not lessen the complications associated with trade deals.”<br />The ruling comes amid growing anti-trade sentiment across much of the Western world, including in the European Union.<br />The debate over trade policy has pitted mainstream politicians, who say the agreements spread prosperity, against opponents — including parties on the extreme right and left — who say<br />that the deals give corporations too much power and erode national sovereignty.<br />While the ruling itself pertains to a trade deal with Singapore, its impacts could be far-reaching,<br />potentially affecting Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union.<br />Negotiations on the withdrawal must conclude by early 2019, when the clock runs out on Britain’s membership in the bloc, and a ruling<br />that affirmed agreements like the one with Singapore would have eliminated at least one layer of complexity
