British can’t skip steps in rush for trade deals

WHEN dissolving any union, some order must be agreed upon; disentangling interests while insisting on maintaining privileges of intimacy can only end in conflict. What emerges from Brexit will be transformational. The contours of expectations will have to change to suit new paradigms.

For the British to be explicit about frictionless, fluid borders – thus forcing the new arrangement to fit a fixed notional Brexit stereotype – will not wash.

Yesterday UK Brexit Secretary David Davis also sought to be prescriptive in arguing that the Border and Britain’s future trading relationship were “inextricably linked”, attempting to tie the two issues together in the Brexit talks.

He may be right, but only up to a point. For there is an element of unreality in his position; shouting the odds on outcomes before any negotiations have even started is wishful thinking.

Indeed, Mr Davis risks sounding a little like the three-times divorced Groucho Marx who, surveying the wreckage of his marriages, noted: “Hollywood brides keep the bouquets and throw away the grooms.”

No wonder Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, currently in Canada, sounded two notes of caution yesterday. One was to remind Theresa May’s government that he “doubted” that other members of the EU would allow the Brexit talks to move to the trade stage unless Ireland was happy with progress.

He also cast doubt on claims that the border between the US and Canada could be the model for an Irish Border post-Brexit. Being neither frictionless nor fluid, it is not a runner. The EU has no option but to insist progress is made on the Border before moving on to future trade arrangements between the UK and EU. Mr Varadkar has a crucial hand to play and he has considerable firepower behind him. The EU has already identified Ireland as one of three key issues, along with the financial divorce settlement and the rights of EU and UK citizens, that must be tied up before they discuss trade.

Britain is anxious to cut to the chase on commerce. Given what this country and the EU have to lose, it is worth remembering that haste and folly too often go hand in hand.