The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Issue linkages and its implications for fisheries management and trade in seafood

Abstract

This article analyses the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) and its implications for the seafood sector. More specifically, the study focuses on how the TCA represents important institutional changes especially through its creation of various modes of issue linkages. The analysis identifies issue linkages within the TCA, as well as external issue linkages between the TCA and other post Brexit trade and fisheries management agreements. The article addresses whether issue linkages make it easier for conflicts in one area to spill over into another, or if these are key to ensuring and stabilising cooperation between the parties.