Proposed arrangements[edit]See also: Commonwealth free tradeDuring the early 20th century, several political figures in Britain, led by Joseph Chamberlain, as well as Canadian Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, argued for a policy of Imperial Preference—a system of reciprocally-enacted tariffs or free trade agreements between the Dominions and the UK—to promote unity within the British Empire and to assure Britain's position as a world power. The idea was controversial, as it pitted proponents of imperial trade with those who sought a general policy of trade liberalisation with all nations.The free trade agreement was thwarted by the United States, which saw Commonwealth preference to the UK as an economic threat; as with the European Union, a Commonwealth free trade agreement would be a possible "counterbalance" to US hegemony.[27] The war had also left Britain heavily indebted, economically weakened, and unable to absorb the flow of exports from Commonwealth jurisdictions. The Dominions, primarily Canada, directed their trade more heavily to the US market as a consequence. The idea of enhanced trade between Canada and Britain was explored in the mid-1950s by the Conservative Cabinet headed by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. The plan, in response to the Canadian government's concern with over-reliance on the United States, was to adopt policies that would see up to 15 percent of Canada's US exports diverted to the UK.In Britain today, Eurosceptics (who wish for the UK to leave the formal political structures of the European Union (EU)) have expressed a preference for a free trade agreement between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK (the CANZUK Free Trade Treaty), among which they say there is a common heritage—similar legal systems, political structures, social programmes, and economies; history, language, liberal and democratic values, and multicultural demography—and hence a stronger bond with them than with Europe in general.[28][29]
The United Commonwealth Society, established in 2002, advocates a federation with a single government, encompassing all the Commonwealth realms.[30] All Commonwealth realm citizens would be granted full rights of movement, residence, and employment across the union. The idea is not recent; Imperial Federation was a late-19th, early-20th century proposal to create a federated union in place of the existing British Empire.
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