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that the Commonwealth is a voluntary associa- tion – it is neither a formal trading nor a collective security bloc. However, it is a pertinent ques- tion. The Commonwealth outperforms the EU in population size, economic growth rate and size of the economy. The UK would do well to look at the Commonwealth as an asset and hub of economic vitality and a springboard for extend- ing its global political influence. Here’s how the UK could implement a Commonwealth Tilt:
A valuable network
The March 2021 Integrated Review (IR) placed the UK at the heart of a network of “like minded countries and flexible groupings” committed to protecting human rights and upholding global norms, and an aim to be “a force for good in the world”.
The Commonwealth organisation offers a ready- made and functioning network. It is not hard to envisage where flexible, smaller mini-lateral groupings can exist within broader network to deal with single-issue matters that
parliament briefing recorded that UK trade with Commonwealth countries is relatively modest. In 2020, the Commonwealth accounted for 8.7% of the UK’s total trade. For context, the value of UK trade with Germany alone accounted for 9.6% of the UK’s total trade in 2020. Further, in 2020, UK-Commonwealth trade was concen- trated in India (7.1%), Canada (20.9%), Australia (16.5%), Singapore (17.5%) and South Africa (6.2%), collectively accounting for 74% of the UK-Commonwealth total trade; the remaining 44 countries represented 26%.
Trade with Commonwealth states has growth potential. While the diverse development stages of Commonwealth states might make a CTZ impractical in the short term, the UK’s finan- cial intelligence enables the creation of a trade structure akin to the BRI that promotes current finance and trade norms and rules.
It could also make a concerted effort to rally intra-Commonwealth trade, making use of the so-called “Commonwealth Advan- tage”. Commonwealth research data shows that Commonwealth coun- tries invest up to 27% more within the Commonwealth than outside of it and member states trade on average up to 20% more with each other than
with non-members.
The UK has significant trading power. This potential has been belatedly recognised by the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, who in November 2021
launched a new initiative to compete directly with the BRI. From April 2022, the rebranded British International Investment will be the gov- ernment’s development finance institution to oversee an annual commitment of £9 billion (by 2025) investment into infrastructure and technol- ogy projects in low-to-middle income countries across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. While not prioritising Commonwealth countries, this initia- tive will offer developing states an alternative to Chinese loans.
In June 2021 the UK started the accession pro- cess to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – a major Pacific regional trade compact promoting free trade, open and competitive markets, and eco- nomic integration. Six of the 11 CPTPP mem- ber states are Commonwealth countries (Aus- tralia, Brunei, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand,
arise but which may not affect all member states.
Commonwealth member states
have overlapping memberships of
regional and other organisations,
for instance, BRICS (South Africa,
India), and Small Island Develop-
ment State (SIDS) alongside the
G20 and G77 groupings. Access
via Commonwealth member
states provides an opportunity to
facilitate and extend the UK’s global trade influ- ence and advance the UK’s commitment to its strategic and moral foreign policy objectives.
The Commonwealth organisation has working mechanisms in place to promote and actively support the implementation of good govern- ance mechanisms, especially to assist states in debt management. Likewise, the Common- wealth promotes other pertinent agenda such as enhancing cyber capability and resilience of regional authorities in support of the 2018 Com- monwealth Cyber Declaration, supported by the UK’s Cyber Security and Tech Conflict, Stability and Security programme.
Trade
During Brexit, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson were said to have supported the idea of a Common- wealth trade zone (CTZ). A December 2021 UK
Commonwealth research data shows that Commonwealth countries invest up to 27% more within the Commonwealth than outside of it
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