In the immediate aftermath of the historic vote for Brexit, many cheered Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, hailing it as a win for freedom, democracy, and subsidiarity. Yet others were quick to claim the move was driven only by populist fear and an inward-looking protectionism.

In the years since, however, it has became readily apparent that possibilities for freer trade do, indeed, abound, with many of the country’s pro-Brexit leaders continuing to champion free and open global exchange.

As Richard Turnbull recently wrote here at Acton, reflecting on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s path forward, “Leaving the EU will allow the U.K. to set its own trade policies, to merce with the rest of the non-European world, to lower prices and open markets, and lead to new sources of prosperity.”

This week, in a speech in Greenwich, London, Johnson further confirmed that path, proclaiming the promise of Britain’s post-Brexit role as a “catalyst for free trade across the world.” Far from promoting narrow insularity, Johnson made clear Britain’s intentions for their newly regained autonomy.

“We have the opportunity. We have the newly recaptured powers,” he says. “We know where we want to go, and that is out into the world.”

Watch the full speech:

While the speech’s blatant bucking of various EU demands has sent skeptics fretting about Britain’s future, Johnson has plenty of faith in his country’s ability to move forward, regardless of any EU resistance.

“We are ready for the great multi-dimensional game of chess in which we engage in more than one negotiation at once, and we are limbering up to use nerves and muscles and instincts that this country has not had to use for half a century,” Johnson says. “…The question is whether we agree a trading relationship with the parable to Canada’s or more like Australia’s, and I have no doubt that in either case the U.K. will prosper.”

The speech has plenty of detail about the particular political pressures at hand, including specific counterarguments to prevalent concerns. But it also provides a strong case for free trade more generally, while also promoting a fascinating fusion of national sovereignty and global cooperation—one that we’d all do well to consider.

I have highlighted key excerpts from the speech below.

On forgetting the power of free trade—“this fundamental liberty”: