Brexit and Bhutan
The small Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has recently been in the news because of its developing interest in the cryptocurrency sector.
The government of Bhutan is said to hold the fourth largest reserve of bitcoin held by any government in the world. Up to now , Bhutan has been known more for including in its statistics a measure of gross national happiness above its measure of gross domestic product.
In view of Bhutan’s new found prominence, it may be instructive to review the UK’s trade and investment relationship with Bhutan.
According to a UK Department for Business & Trade ( DBT) factsheet issued on 17th December 2025, total trade between the UK and Bhutan was £5 million in the four quarters to the end of Quarter 2 (Q2) 2025, a change of less than £1 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024. Of this £5 million:
- Total UK exports to Bhutan amounted to £5 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025 ( an increase of 25.0% or £1 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024); and
- Total UK imports from Bhutan amounted to less than £1 million in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025 ( a decrease of 100.0% or £1 million in current prices, compared to the four quarters to the end of Q2 2024).
The DBT factsheet showed that Bhutan was the UK’s 213th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025, accounting for less than 0.1% of total UK trade.
The factsheet also showed that, at the end of 2023, the stock of FDI ( Foreign Direct Investment ) from the UK in Bhutan was £991 million but that a comparison with the previous year was not available owing to a low value of investment. According to the fact sheet, at the end of 2023, the stock of FDI from Bhutan in the UK was less than £500 thousand and no figure was given for the previous year.
The UK has staked its post-Brexit future in building up its post-Brexit trade and investment future with countries around the World and not just with the EU.
Let us see whether Bhutan, with its small but allegedly happy population of some 780,000 persons, can be one of those countries!
In an article for The Times, published on 3rd January 2026, entitled “ Bhutan and Britain boast unlikely bonds”, the columnist Dominic Sandbrook encouraged the further development of good relations between the two countries, originally founded on good relations between them during the period of Britain’s colonial occupation of Bhutan’s southern neighbour, India, from the 18th century through to India’s independence in 1947 and more recently solidified in 2016 by the visit to Bhutan of Price William and Princess Catherine.
Interesting times!
Brexit and Gene- Edited Foods
On 9th January 2026, The Times reported that , in the EU “reset” negotiations, the EU appears to be insisting on the UK repealing ( or at least mothballing) its gene – editing of crops laws ( in particular, the Genetic Technology ( Precision Breeding ) Act 2023) so as to fall into line with existing restrictions in EU law.
According to the article, gene-editing of crops is the process of editing genetic codes so as to enhance specific traits , such as blight-resistant potatoes and tomatoes enriched with vitamins.
Reportedly, gene-editing is a different technology from genetic modification (GM), where the EU also has severe restrictions in place ( which presumably the EU would seek to extend to the UK under an EU reset deal). GM reportedly involves inserting genes from other species.
The UK is apparently seeking an opt-out from the application of these EU rules under a “reset” arrangement. Maybe some labelling would help , such as “not for resale in the EU”.
Why is everything so complicated, some might ask?
Brexit and a Tracker published by the UK in a Changing Europe
“UK in a Changing Europe” (“UKCE”) has described itself on its website as “an academic think tank providing impartial , research – based analysis of the UK’s relationship with the EU and the many issues that affect and are affected by it. We are part of the Policy Institute at King’s College London.”.
On 20th January 2026, UKCE published its UK-EU Divergence Tracker Q4 2025, outlining how UK and EU rules and regulations have diverged in the period October – December 2025.
The tracker reportedly identified 19 cases of “passive” divergence ( where the EU changed its rules in ways which the UK did not mirror) and eight cases of “active” divergence ( where the UK changed its rules in ways which the EU did not mirror) and seven cases of alignment ( where UK and EU rules moved closer together).
Reportedly, the main area where the UK and EU diverged over the Q4 2025 ( Quarter 4 2025) was financial services and the most significant area of EU-led “ passive” divergence over that period was digital policy.
Separately, UKCE noted in its summary that over the quarter in question (Q4 2025), the EU took a number of steps to simplify obligations on companies in relation to environmental reporting, AI ( artificial intelligence) and data protection – as part of the EU’s wider push for regulatory “simplification”. These are areas where reportedly the EU previously had stricter rules than the UK but was now scaling back their extent.
Interesting times!
Brexit and Refining the UK’s Competition Regime
On 20th January 2026, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced an open consultation ( under the banner ,” Refining our competition regime”) seeking “views on proposals to improve the pace, predictability, proportionality and process of engagement of the UK’s competition regime.”.
The consultation was due to close on 31st March 2026 and the CMA’s press release which accompanied its announcement stated that the proposals included :-
- “a new decision-making model for the markets and mergers regime , to enhance the CMA’s involvement and accountability while safeguarding CMA independence from government in its decision making”;
- “ enhancing the markets regime by streamlining to reduce review times, improving the flexibility of the concurrency framework in markets work, and measures to ensure market remedies remain necessary and proportionate”;
- “providing greater certainty on when mergers will be subject to investigation by the CMA, and providing more time to agree remedies following Phase 1 merger investigations”;
- “stronger CMA powers to investigate algorithms across its competition and consumer protection responsibilities”; and
- “providing the Secretary of State with a formal role in a wider range of key guidance documents.”.
Interesting times!
Disclaimer: This article contains general commentary only and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
