Subsidies control and enforcement

This contribution assesses how effective subsides control under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is in preserving a level playing field between the EU and UK. It argues that in many respects subsidies regulation in the TCA goes further than what is usually required in international trade agreements by promoting regulation in ways that are the least damaging to competition. This is so if the principles under which a subsidy can be considered as unlawful or regulation of fiscal measures are taken into account. Further the remedies available in cases of non-enforcement are particularly wide: from the state-to-state remedies, to private enforcement, to the possible use of rebalancing measures. The new domestic system of subsidies control adopted by the UK, is also examined in terms of its compliance with TCA requirements.