Timothy K. DesJarlais is head of government for the UK and is leading Brexit negotiations. The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 due to concerns over immigration and sovereignty. Key issues in negotiations are future access to the EU single market and status of EU citizens in the UK. The UK wants control over borders and is pushing for a total exit from the EU while pursuing new trade agreements, reforming immigration, and protecting rights of EU citizens currently in the UK. The UK believes this approach will allow both it and the EU to better prosper while remaining economic partners.

1. Participant Name: Timothy K. DesJarlais Participant School: University of Arizona
Country: United Kingdom Role: Head of Government
Topic: Brexit Negotiations
I. Introduction
In a 1975 referendum, the voters of the United Kingdom (UK) chose to remain in the European
Economic Community (EEC), later to become the European Union (EU). Forty-one years later, in
2016, the voters of the UK voted to leave the EU, a wide reaching decision that has already resulted
in both resignations of top UK government officials and a rise in value for the pound.
With economic and political divorce imminent, the UK and the EU are now undertaking
negotiations to ensure the successful of exit of the UK on terms that are agreeable to both sides. In
these negotiations, the two main issues to be considered and debated are what type of access the
UK should have to the single-market of the EU, and what to do with the issue of EU citizenship.
Concerns now exist regarding what kind of economic relationship shall exist between the UK and
the EU, in light of the fact that the UK is the single largest destination for import goods coming
from the EU. Additionally, according to estimates by the UK’s Office of National Statistics (ONS)
in 2015, there were 3.3 million EU citizens living in the UK. Questions remain as to the status of
those citizens as well as what role the UK will play in Europe after leaving the EU.
II. The Situation in the UK
The main driving force behind the UK’s attempt to seek membership in the EEC was economical.
But while the economics of the UK did play a role in the vote to leave the EU, the primary factor
affecting the outcome of the 2016 referendum was concerns about immigration and the right of
the UK to exercise sovereignty over its own borders. Additionally, these concerns were further
heightened by the refugee and immigration crisis that had begun to impact the EU. While the UK
does accept refugees, they strongly opposed EU proposals to create a quota system that would
require member nations to accept refugees, preferring instead to provide humanitarian aid in war
torn areas and stabilize the home states where most refugees originated from. This position along
with concerns about migrants from other EU member states taking jobs from UK residents and
draining the UK’s welfare system played a key role in the result of the 2016 referendum. Thus, the
government of the UK has decided to remain firm on the position that they must maintain
sovereignty and control over their own borders, without any compromise. The results of the 2016
referendum also puts all 3.3 million of the EU’s citizens inhabiting the UK in jeopardy, as well as
raising questions about what will happen to the 1.2 million UK citizens living in other EU member
states. To this effort, the Presidency has proposed creating an associate EU citizenship option, a
proposal of which the UK remains highly skeptical.
Furthermore, the UK is faced with the decision of withdrawing from the EU’s single market as the
UK is strongly opposed to any concessions regarding the free movement of people, one of the four
fundamental principles of the EU’s single market. The UK is the top destination for EU exports

2. with 16% of the EU’s exports going to the UK, followed by the United States at 15% and China
at 8%. On the other hand, exports from the UK to the EU comprise 44.4% of its total exports.
Individually, the top highest UK export destinations are the United States (11%), Germany (9.8%),
Netherlands (7.2%), Switzerland (7.1%), and France (5.7%). Despite the UK’s trading relationship
with the EU however, the UK also has the opportunity to offset any potential trade losses with the
EU by establishing new free trade agreements with other countries. Specifically, countries that
have recently expressed interest in free trade agreements with the UK include both the United
States and India. The United States has tried in the past to create an agreement with the EU in the
form of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership but those negotiations have yet to
produce any results and the United States, with its new administration, has expressed its interest
in looking to the UK as a closer trading partner. India also has faced constant roadblocks in its
attempt to establish a free trade agreement with the EU and has expressed their interest in an
alternate free trade agreement with the UK.
III. Policy Positions
The policy positions of the UK center on ensuring it has the right to control its own borders and
guaranteeing its national sovereignty. The UK presently has no intention of remaining either a
member of the European Economic Area (EEA) or trying to negotiating a partial exit from the EU.
Instead, the UK is pushing for a complete and total exit while holding to the following priorities:
Priority 1: Renegotiating Economic Agreements Outside of the EEA
The UK is aware that a complete and total exit from the EU will jeopardize its standing in the
EEA, thus, the UK has no interest in remaining a member of the EEA. The UK’s decision to leave
the EEA should not however be falsely construed to mean that the UK does not desire anymore
economic involvement with the EU. Instead, the UK intends to negotiate a separate and customized
trade agreement with the EU as a bloc that would allow for the reduction of certain tariffs and
removal of limitations on trade. If the EU however is unwilling to cooperate with the UK as a bloc,
the UK will then seek to negotiate individualized trade agreements with specific member states.
This of course will be in addition to UK trade agreements with other non-European states like the
United States or India as well as working to reestablish the UK’s status in the World Trade
Organization.
Priority 2: Reforming Immigration Procedures for EU Immigrants
Similar to agreements between the UK and the United States, citizens of the EU shall be allowed
to visit the UK without a visa for a period of six months or less. Citizens of the EU who wish to
migrate to the UK for work or employment must apply for work visas first, and must be able to
demonstrate that they have prospective employers in the UK. Different classes of visas may be
awarded on the basis of whether or not applicants are skilled professionals and the UK shall reserve
the right to reject applicants from certain visa classes, depending on the state of the economy,
unemployment, and status of growth in the country.
Priority 3: Protecting EU Citizens Already Residing the UK

3. The UK recognizes that 3.3 million EU citizens currently reside in the EU and that according to
2015 statistics from the ONS, roughly 1.2 million of those workers are unemployed. Because 1.2
million UK citizens are also residing throughout the EU, the UK supports providing all EU citizens
presently residing in the UK before June 23, 2016, the right to remain as permanent residents, but
not citizens. Individuals who arrived since June 23, 2016 shall be required to register for visas,
otherwise, they shall be required to leave the UK.
Priority 4: Requirements for an Acceptable Associate EU Citizenship Option
The UK remains highly skeptical of the success of an associate EU citizenship option, especially
in light of the fact that the UK intends to restrict work-related migration to the UK through a visa
system. The UK would support any measure that protects and guarantees the rights of its citizens
residing abroad in the EU, but would not be willing to exchange such an agreement for allowing
unchecked access to the UK. The UK would also support and prefer that the EU adopts a uniform
standard for accepting UK migrants and would not be opposed to requiring future migrants to the
EU from the UK with the requirement to apply for visas if they wish to stay for a period of longer
than six months.
IV. Conclusion
After nearly 41 years of membership in the EU, the UK has chosen it is no longer it’s or the EU’s
best interests to remain a member. The UK intends to effect a complete and total exit from the EU.
The UK however is willing, as expressed above, to ensure that the UK and EU remain firm
economic partners as long as the UK’s national sovereignty and right to control its borders is
honored. By terminating its membership, the UK believes that both it and the EU can better
prosper, being each uniquely positioned to pursue their specific interests. The UK has expressed
its continued interest in remaining trading partners with the EU through trade agreements and
working together to ensure that the citizens of both the UK and EU are reciprocally protected and
their rights guaranteed.