David Henig
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +44 79 50 099 059
Areas of Expertise: European Union EU Single Market EU Trade Agreements North-America Services WTO and Globalisation
David Henig is Director of the UK Trade Policy Project. A leading authority on the development of UK Trade Policy post Brexit, he places this in the context of developments in EU and global trade policy on which he also researches and writes.
David joined ECIPE in 2018 having worked on trade and investment issues for the UK Government for a number of years, in particular engaging extensively on US-EU talks around the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, on global issues around the US and China, and latterly helping to establish a UK trade policy capability after the 2016 Brexit referendum. He also writes a regular column for the online trade policy professionals news service Borderlex, advises a Parliamentary committee and the UK Trade and Business Commission, and appears regularly in media and at events to discuss latest developments. During the most intense phases of Brexit, he established with a number of other UK specialists a network of expertise under the UK Trade Forum banner.
Prior to working in Government, David worked in consulting and business development, having graduated from Oxford University. Collectively all of this experience is brought together in the project examining and evaluating the UK’s performance in preparing for and delivering effective trade policy.
ECIPE Policy Briefs
Negotiating Uncertainty in UK-EU Relations: Past, Present, and Future
Ten key points to negotiating the UK-EU relationship Europe has been weakened by difficult UK-EU relations at a time of international challenge. Eight years after the Brexit referendum a new UK government and European Commission provides a good opportunity to reset approaches and put obstructions aside. Too big for either side to ignore, this will always be an important, time-consuming, and slightly chaotic relationship – which thus needs a much firmer footing...
ECIPE Policy Briefs
Building a Mature UK Trade Policy
Global Britain has not delivered according to the hopes expressed by supporters of leaving the EU. Trade with the rest of the world has not grown to make up for leaving a bloc with seamless trade, early Free Trade Agreements with Australia and New Zealand are of minor economic significance, and it is hard to discern much of a strategy beyond completing a few more similar deals. Meanwhile the world of trade policy is transformed since 2016, negatively. The US...
New Globalisation
The New Globalisation: SMEs and International Trade – The Supply Chain is as Important as Direct Exports
The disproportionately small share of exports from Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is a cause of concern in modern trade policy. For developed countries, they typically account for over 95% of all businesses, two-thirds of the labour force, yet less than 50% of economic activity, and under a third of total export value. There is a compelling global narrative which argues we are missing a major economic opportunity. Conventional policy responses have been to...
UK Project
Time for Fresh Thinking on Northern Ireland and Brexit
The Good Friday / Belfast Agreement became, with considerable efforts over several years from so many involved, a broadly accepted if never fully stable political framework for Northern Ireland. A year after implementation, the prospect of the Northern Ireland Protocol delivering similar results is diminishing. Instead, there is a risk it entrenches divisions in which all sides believe others, not themselves, must be the ones to compromise most. Such divisions...
Media Mention
Youth mobility scheme with EU would be ‘fantastic’, says UK minister
David Henig comments for the Financial Times that Great Britain will struggle to secure exemptions when aligning with Brussels, especially regarding gene editing and foie gras import bans in future deals.
Media Mention
UK government’s trade department bracing for 20 percent workforce cut
David Henig warns for POLITICO Europe that DBT staff cuts demand hard choices and significant energy, arguing the government undervalues DBT’s crucial role in implementing growth strategies.
Media Mention
Why Britain faces a bigger Trump tariff blow than no-deal Canada
David Henig notes the UK's 10% tariff deal with the US seems best superficially, but scrutiny reveals it's less favourable for certain sectors compared to Canada's arrangement via The Telegraph..
Media Mention
Who are the winners and losers of Trump’s tariffs?
David Henig comments for NBC that Trump's tariff decisions lack clear logic, likely using previous formulas, with some countries unfairly treated and others receiving unexplained reprieves.
Article
Europe must show its trade alternatives are a better model of action than Trump’s
David Henig writes for The Observer on US tariff deals with the EU limiting economic damage but adding uncertainty.
Article
Why the UK should embrace rule-taking
David Henig argues that the government should embrace a new approach to regulation, aligning with EU rules by default unless there is a compelling reason otherwise via UK In a Changing Europe.
Article
Perspectives: Sleepwalking is not a trade policy
David Henig writes about how the EU’s trade policy is struggling amid divisions, growing protectionism, and institutional inertia via Borderlex.
Article
Perspectives: Settling for WTO survival
David Henig writes his column for Borderlex on the unlikely WTO reform until political conditions are more favourable.
Book or Paper
Northern Ireland’s Triple Treaty Trade Ambiguity
David Henig writes for the Centre for Cross Border Studies on the ambiguity around Northern Ireland's future trade status
Speech or Presentation
28/08/25 ‘Disappointment’ from food industry as minister says EU export checks to last until 2027, bee insemination
David Henig emphasises industry disappointment via BBC 4's Farming Today, noting that post-Brexit trade barriers for agri-food exports to the EU won’t ease until at least 2027.
Speech or Presentation
A little more conversation, a little less faction
David Henig joins the Quiet Riot Podcast to discuss political extremism, vigilantism, and the lack of honest debate on trade and immigration policies.
Speech or Presentation
Trump’s Tariffs: Can Global Trade Survive the Shock?
David Henig discusses global trade uncertainties and market impacts following President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on the podcast Deep Dish by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Speech or Presentation
Inside the Latest China-US Trade Talks: Outcomes and Global Impact
David Henig joined CGTN Europe's The Agenda to discuss the current state of global trade negotiations after recent US and international developments.