Trade barriers ‘unavoidable’

EU negotiator: Quitting EU single market and customs union a bad idea

LONDON: EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier (pic) warned that Britain faced “unavoidable” trade barriers after Brexit if it also quit the bloc’s single market and customs union as planned, after talks with Prime Minister Theresa May in London.

“Without customs union and outside the single market, barriers to trade in goods and services are unavoidable,” he said after the meeting which also included Brexit minister David Davis.

“Time has come to make a choice.”

Brexit negotiations resumed in Brussels yesterday on plans for a two-year transition period for after Britain’s withdrawal in March 2019.

But much of the focus in London and Brussels is on the most contentious negotiations due later this year on the future relationship between Britain and the EU.

Senior ministers in May’s government will hold two days of talks today and tomorrow to try to thrash out a plan, as pro-European and pro-Brexit factions in parliament clash over the best approach.

May has repeatedly said that Britain would leave the EU’s customs union, a move that would allow it to strike new global trade deals but which critics warn will hit the economy.

“We have said that we want the customs arrangement to be as frictionless as possible and that’s what we will be looking to achieve as part of the deep and special partnership we are seeking with the EU,” the prime minister’s spokesman said after Monday’s talks.

“We think we can achieve that because it’s in the interests of the UK and the European Union. As with all these matters, it’s the beginning of a negotiation.”

But Barnier said that “we need clarity” ahead of talks starting in April, adding that he expected an official position from London “in the next few weeks”.

Having previously set a deadline for October to ratify any deal before Brexit day, he warned there was “not a moment to lose”.

London and Brussels struck a preliminary deal on key separation issues in December, and this week begin technical talks on a transition period to smooth Britain’s withdrawal.

Both sides agree that relations during that period should continue largely as they are now, with Britain maintaining trading ties in return for keeping up its budget contributions, but without having any say in making policy.

However, May risked upsetting Brussels last week by questioning the rights of EU citizens who arrive in Britain during that time. “The conditions are clear, very clear.

“Everyone has to play by the same rules during this transition,” Barnier said on Monday.

The prime minister has been under increasing pressure from pro-Brexit lawmakers in her Conservative party over her European strategy. — AFP