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David Davis says May's new Brexit customs plan is unworkable David Davis says May's new Brexit customs plan is unworkable
(about 2 hours later)
David Davis has told Theresa May that her “best of both worlds” plan for Brexit is unworkable. David Davis has told Theresa May her “best of both worlds” plan for Brexit is unworkable in a letter written as details emerged of the prime minister’s proposed new customs arrangement.
In a letter written as details began to emerge of May’s proposed new customs arrangement, the Brexit secretary said the compromise plan amounted to an idea that the EU had already rejected. The Brexit secretary raised concerns that the “facilitated customs arrangement” compromise plan – which would allow the UK to set its own tariffs on goods arriving into the country – was too similar to a discarded idea that the EU had already rejected.
According to Downing Street the new plan, known as the “facilitated customs arrangement”, would allow the UK to set its own tariffs on goods arriving into the UK. Downing Street indicated that under the plan tracking devices would be used to determine where the goods would ultimately end up, and therefore whether UK or EU tariffs should be paid.
It said tracking devices would be used to determine where the goods would ultimately end up, and therefore whether UK or EU tariffs should be paid. Details of the plan are still emerging and it is not certain whether the cabinet will back it at a key Brexit meeting at Chequers on Friday. But the early hints were that it would be acceptable to other key Brexiters such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove as it allows the UK tariff control, paving the way for the publication of a strategy white paper next week.
But Davis reportedly told May the EU would block any deal for the UK to police its borders. The Daily Telegraph reported that in his letter he said that the plan was doomed because it amounted to a customs partnership with some additional technological elements. The “third way” customs proposal is intended to end the cabinet logjam between the “maximum facilitation” model favoured by Brexiters, which relies on using technology to ensure the correct tariffs are levied on goods crossing the UK border, and May’s once favoured “customs partnership”, which involved the UK collecting tariffs on behalf of the EU.
But Downing Street insists that its plan could be in place by the end of the proposed transition period in December 2020. The compromise, also referred to as a “third way” arrangement, is being seen as way to counter Brexiter fears of the UK becoming a tax collector for the EU. Under the plan, the UK would be free to set its own tariffs on goods destined for the UK while still allowing EU tariffs on goods bound for the rest of Europe. Davis’s concern is that the EU will block any deal for the UK to police its borders. The Daily Telegraph reported that in his letter he said the plan was doomed because it amounted to a customs partnership with some additional technological elements; the EU has previously rejected both the maximum facilitation and customs partnership models.
Details of the plan are still sketchy and it is unclear whether the cabinet will back it at a key Brexit meeting at Chequers on Friday. Downing Street insists that its plan could be in place by the end of the proposed transition period in December 2020.
Ministers are concerned that the focus on the details of future customs arrangements is too narrow. May is travelling to Berlin on Thursday afternoon to discuss the progress of Brexit negotiations with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. The prime minister is under intense pressure from EU leaders and industry to provide greater clarity, although Number 10 has insisted that it will not detail new customs plans to tMerkel before they are discussed in cabinet.
Remain-leaning cabinet ministers fear it leaves out the crucial services sector, while Brexiters are nervous that the meeting will fail to address freedom of movement. Before Friday’s away day, there is also ministerial concern that the focus on the details of future customs arrangements is too narrow. Remain-leaning cabinet ministers fear it leaves out the crucial services sector while Brexiters are nervous that the meeting will fail to address freedom of movement.
May is travelling to Berlin on Thursday to discuss the progress of Brexit negotiations with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel. The prime minister is under intense pressure from EU leaders and industry to provide greater clarity about her plans. Britain’s biggest vehicle manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, said it needed greater certainty to continue to invest heavily in the UK. “A bad Brexit deal would cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2bn profit each year,” said its chief executive, Ralf Speth.
Britain’s biggest vehicle manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, said it needed greater certainty to continue to invest heavily in the UK. Two other major employers, BMW and Airbus, have said their positions in the UK would be in doubt if their production processes were threatened by the terms of the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
“A bad Brexit deal would cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2bn profit each year,” said its chief executive, Ralf Speth.
Two other major employers, BMW and Airbus, have said their positions in the UK would be in doubt if their production processes are threatened by the terms of the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
Officials in Brussels have already dismissed a draft of May’s Brexit white paper as unrealistic. “We read the white paper and we read ‘cake’,” an official told the Guardian on Monday.
BrexitBrexit
David DavisDavid Davis
European UnionEuropean Union
Foreign policyForeign policy
Trade policyTrade policy
Theresa MayTheresa May
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