18/08/2017
A time-limited post-Brexit period during which the UK would maintain a close relationship with the EU Customs Union has been proposed by the UK government as a way of ensuring businesses only have to adjust once as they make a smooth and orderly transition to a new UK-EU customs relationship.
The first in a series of papers on key UK-EU partnership issues, ‘Future customs arrangements: a future partnership paper’ also sets out proposals for the following two broad approaches that would aim to build on the ‘UK’s strong starting position’ to develop a new customs relationship.
1) A highly streamlined arrangement with customs requirements would aim to continue some existing arrangements, reduce or remove barriers to trade through new arrangements and adopt technology-based solutions to make it easier for businesses to comply with customs procedures.
2) A new approach that removes the need for a UK-EU customs border and could involve the UK mirroring the EU’s requirements for imports from the rest of the world where the final destination is the EU.
The paper states bluntly that the UK will be guided by what delivers the greatest economic advantage to the UK, as well as by the following three objectives
- to ensure trade with the EU is as frictionless as possible
- to avoid any form of hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland
- to establish an independent international trade policy