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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jun/06/customs-backstop-pm-faces-revolt-david-davis-end-date-brexit
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| Customs backstop: PM faces revolt from David Davis over end date | Customs backstop: PM faces revolt from David Davis over end date |
| (6 months later) | |
| Theresa May is facing a backlash from the Brexit secretary, David Davis, over the government’s backstop plan to avoid a hard border in Ireland. | Theresa May is facing a backlash from the Brexit secretary, David Davis, over the government’s backstop plan to avoid a hard border in Ireland. |
| Cabinet sources confirmed a BBC report that a four-page draft of the backstop proposal circulated to ministers has prompted a fresh row, because it does not include a legally enforceable end date. | Cabinet sources confirmed a BBC report that a four-page draft of the backstop proposal circulated to ministers has prompted a fresh row, because it does not include a legally enforceable end date. |
| Davis in particular was keen to see a firm end date be put in place for the plan, which would keep the whole of the UK in key areas of the customs union until a permanent solution to the Irish border problem can be found. | Davis in particular was keen to see a firm end date be put in place for the plan, which would keep the whole of the UK in key areas of the customs union until a permanent solution to the Irish border problem can be found. |
| Davis helped to clinch agreement on the backstop in the cabinet Brexit subcommittee last month, in the face of objections from other leavers including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. | Davis helped to clinch agreement on the backstop in the cabinet Brexit subcommittee last month, in the face of objections from other leavers including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. |
| PMQs: Theresa May refuses to say when Brexit white paper will be published - Politics live | |
| Johnson subsequently warned that the prime minister should ensure she delivered a Brexit deal that avoided the backstop having to be used. “Brexiters fearing betrayal over the customs backstop must understand that the PM has been very clear that it is not an outcome we desire; we want a deal with the EU and she will deliver it,” he said. | Johnson subsequently warned that the prime minister should ensure she delivered a Brexit deal that avoided the backstop having to be used. “Brexiters fearing betrayal over the customs backstop must understand that the PM has been very clear that it is not an outcome we desire; we want a deal with the EU and she will deliver it,” he said. |
| Downing Street played down the row on Wednesday, saying the backstop was only ever intended to be temporary. “It’s important that it’s time-limited even outside of the fact that we don’t expect or want it to happen,” a source said. | Downing Street played down the row on Wednesday, saying the backstop was only ever intended to be temporary. “It’s important that it’s time-limited even outside of the fact that we don’t expect or want it to happen,” a source said. |
| Pressed on whether the last meeting of the Brexit subcommittee had signed up to the details of the backstop plan, the source said, “they agreed the policy of what it would look like – and of course that there needs to be one”. | Pressed on whether the last meeting of the Brexit subcommittee had signed up to the details of the backstop plan, the source said, “they agreed the policy of what it would look like – and of course that there needs to be one”. |
| The subcommittee is due to meet again on Thursday, with a related simmering dispute about Britain’s future customs arrangements still unresolved. | The subcommittee is due to meet again on Thursday, with a related simmering dispute about Britain’s future customs arrangements still unresolved. |
| When news of the backstop plan emerged last month, it infuriated hardline Conservative backbenchers who fear that it could become the post-Brexit norm. | When news of the backstop plan emerged last month, it infuriated hardline Conservative backbenchers who fear that it could become the post-Brexit norm. |
| Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory backbenchers, went so far as to question whether the government remained committed to delivering Brexit. | Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Tory backbenchers, went so far as to question whether the government remained committed to delivering Brexit. |
| The latest clash between the prime minister and her Brexit secretary comes after the pair also disagreed about the timing of publication for a white paper on the government’s Brexit stance. | The latest clash between the prime minister and her Brexit secretary comes after the pair also disagreed about the timing of publication for a white paper on the government’s Brexit stance. |
| Davis was keen to produce a detailed document before the European council at the end of June but the prime minister is more cautious. | Davis was keen to produce a detailed document before the European council at the end of June but the prime minister is more cautious. |
| May refused to give an answer when asked by Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister’s questions when it would be published. | May refused to give an answer when asked by Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister’s questions when it would be published. |
| Rumours were circulating in Westminster on Wednesday that Davis had threatened to resign over the details of the backstop plan. | Rumours were circulating in Westminster on Wednesday that Davis had threatened to resign over the details of the backstop plan. |
| A customs union is an agreement by a group of countries, such as the EU, to all apply the same tariffs on imported goods from the rest of the world and, typically, eliminate them entirely for trade within the group. By doing this, they can help avoid the need for costly and time-consuming customs checks during trade between members of the union. Asian shipping containers arriving at Felixstowe or Rotterdam, for example, need only pass through customs once before their contents head to markets all over Europe. Lorries passing between Dover and Calais avoid delay entirely. | A customs union is an agreement by a group of countries, such as the EU, to all apply the same tariffs on imported goods from the rest of the world and, typically, eliminate them entirely for trade within the group. By doing this, they can help avoid the need for costly and time-consuming customs checks during trade between members of the union. Asian shipping containers arriving at Felixstowe or Rotterdam, for example, need only pass through customs once before their contents head to markets all over Europe. Lorries passing between Dover and Calais avoid delay entirely. |
| Customs are not the only checks that count – imports are also scrutinised for conformity with trading standards regulations and security and immigration purposes – but they do play an important role in determining how much friction there is at the border. A strict customs regime at Dover or between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would lead to delays that will be costly for business and disruptive for travellers. Just-in-time supply chains in industries such as car making could suffer. An Irish peace process built around the principle of entirely unfettered travel between north and south could be jeopardised. | Customs are not the only checks that count – imports are also scrutinised for conformity with trading standards regulations and security and immigration purposes – but they do play an important role in determining how much friction there is at the border. A strict customs regime at Dover or between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would lead to delays that will be costly for business and disruptive for travellers. Just-in-time supply chains in industries such as car making could suffer. An Irish peace process built around the principle of entirely unfettered travel between north and south could be jeopardised. |
| Britain signed up to the idea of a backstop in the deal reached with the EU27 in December but May rejected a draft subsequently presented by Brussels that would in effect keep Northern Ireland in the single market. | Britain signed up to the idea of a backstop in the deal reached with the EU27 in December but May rejected a draft subsequently presented by Brussels that would in effect keep Northern Ireland in the single market. |
| Any plan that involves a special status for Northern Ireland is anathema to May’s allies in the Democratic Unionist party, who reject the idea of any differential in treatment between the region and the rest of the UK. | Any plan that involves a special status for Northern Ireland is anathema to May’s allies in the Democratic Unionist party, who reject the idea of any differential in treatment between the region and the rest of the UK. |
| The EU27 has been waiting for the government to publish its alternative draft backstop proposal, which is expected to include the whole of the UK temporarily applying the EU’s external tariff – a plan that would limit the ability of the trade secretary, Liam Fox, to strike new deals with non-EU countries. | The EU27 has been waiting for the government to publish its alternative draft backstop proposal, which is expected to include the whole of the UK temporarily applying the EU’s external tariff – a plan that would limit the ability of the trade secretary, Liam Fox, to strike new deals with non-EU countries. |
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| Foreign policy | Foreign policy |
| Theresa May | Theresa May |
| David Davis | David Davis |
| Conservatives | Conservatives |
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