Initiative for Free Trade

The Initiative for Free Trade (IFT) is a private, not-for-profit, research foundation based in central London. It aims to make an intellectual and moral case for free trade and sees Brexit as "an opportunity to revitalise the world trading system".[1]

Initiative for Free Trade
AbbreviationIFT
Formation2017 (2017)
TypeInternational trade think tank
HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
President
Daniel Hannan
Websitewww.ifreetrade.org

The IFT was founded by Daniel Hannan, MEP for South East England, in September 2017.[1] It is the United Kingdom's first, and currently only, think tank specialising exclusively in trade policy and the economics of trade. IFT works closely with, though independently of, the UK’s Department for International Trade.

Aims

IFT’s official aims are to “recapture the moral case for open commerce” and promote free trade. It aims to achieve this through educating civil society; bringing together businesses to assess the impact of trade barriers and their removal; and encouraging policymakers and lawmakers to support trade liberalisation.[2] As well as holding events with high-profile speakers, IFT produces and distributes research aimed at specific audiences. These range from short explainer videos to long academic reports.

While founded by a Conservative MEP, the IFT aims to be a non-partisan organisation and has supporters across the political spectrum. For example, Labour MP Graham Stringer wrote the foreword for 'The Left-Wing Case for Free Trade'. However, as it supports the UK leaving the EU in order to pursue an independent trade policy, it has drawn ire from politician's who supported Remain in the EU Referendum. Chuka Umunna described the think-tank as "fanatical hard Brexit-supporting ideologues",[3] while Chris Bryant said that "the IFT may seem like a fringe group of wacky fanatics, but the reality is they are highly influential and are pushing a dangerous agenda."[3]

History

The creation of the Department for International Trade (DIT) in July 2016 signalled the UK Government’s commitment to pursuing an independent trade policy for the first time since 1975. IFT aims to fill the corresponding gap in UK-based research and expertise on trade issues, to help contribute to a more informed government, legislature, business community and general public.

The initiative was launched in the Map Room at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by Boris Johnson, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and Liam Fox, Secretary of State for International Trade, in September 2017. The IFT was not charged for the use of the room as the event was deemed to be in support of the Government's objectives on free trade.[3] The IFT was initially named Institute for Free Trade,[4] but changed to Initiative for Free Trade after it emerged that permission to use the title "Institute", which is protected by law, had not been granted by Companies House and the Business Secretary.[5][6]

In October 2017 IFT hosted its first event—the Global Trade Summit (London)—and has supported and participated in the Conservatives International conferences in Miami and Kampala in 2017, as well as La Convención Azul in Buenos Aires.

In September 2018, it launched 'An “Ideal” US-UK Free Trade Arrangement’ in conjunction with the Cato Institute and nine other free-market British and American think-tanks. Acted as a proposed template for a future trade agreement between the US and the UK, the paper attracted significant media attention.[7][8][9]

Publications
  • ‘An “Ideal” US-UK Free Trade Arrangement’, 2017 [10]
  • ‘Boosting UK-East Africa Trade’, 2018 [11]
  • ‘A Roadmap for UK Accession to CPTPP’, 2018 [12]

The Case for Free Trade series

  • ‘The Left-Wing Case for Free Trade’, 2017 [13]
  • 'Why Free Trade is Good for Your Health', 2017[14]
  • 'The Development Case for Free Trade', 2018[15]

Notable people

International advisory board[1]

Executive board[1]

  • Chairman: Jon Moynihan (chairman and Co-Principal of Ipex Capital)
  • Depute chairman: Alan Halsall (Former joint chairman of Businesses for Britain)
  • Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham Kb, Founding director of Digby Jones LLP, former Minister of State for Trade & Investment, former Director-General of the CBI
  • Dame Helena Morrissey, DBE, Former Head of Personal Investing at Legal & General Investment Management
  • Brian Kingham, Entrepreneur, investor and founding chairman of Reliance Security Group
  • Jim Mellon, Entrepreneur, investor and chairman of Burnbrae
  • Max Rangeley, Manager of the Cobden Centre
gollark: My last laptop could conveniently keep hot drinks warm with its fan output.
gollark: Yes, actually.
gollark: How nice of it.
gollark: I can ignore the fan noise thanks to HEADFONE technology by Gtech.
gollark: I really should have spent the extra £10 on an extra 4GB.

References
  1. "IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  2. "IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  3. Boris Johnson under fire for waiving £6,000 fee for hard Brexit event at Foreign Office. Secret emails show Government ethics chief raised concerns about launch of IFT think tank at the Foreign Office. Lizzy Buchan, political correspondent. Independent. 22.2.2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-fee-hard-brexit-event-foreign-office-ift-daniel-hannan-a8223971.html
  4. "Institute for Free Trade (IFT)". 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  5. Savage, Michael (16 December 2017). "Brexit thinktank in dispute over use of 'institute' in title". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  6. Walker, Peter; Asthana, Anushka (18 December 2017). "Brexit thinktank removes 'institute' from its name". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. Moseley, Tom (2018-09-18). "Groups call for UK-US free movement". Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  8. Ikenson, Victoria Hewson, Daniel (2018-09-19). "Britain and the US can show the world what a free trade deal should like". www.cityam.com. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  9. Isaac, Anna (2018-09-18). "How to strike the perfect US-UK free trade agreement: Zero tariffs and easy movement of labour". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  10. "An "Ideal" US-UK Free Trade Agreement | IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  11. "The Future of UK-East Africa Trade | IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  12. "A Roadmap for UK Accession to CPTPP | IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  13. "The Left-wing Case for Free Trade | IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  14. "Why Free Trade is Good for Your Health | IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  15. "The Development Case for Free Trade | IFT". IFT. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
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