May’s techno border plan ‘naive’

– British manufacturers turned up the pressure on the government to abandon one of its post-Brexit customs proposals yesterday, slamming the idea of a technology-based plan for border checks as naive and a waste of money.

Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out Britain staying in a customs union with the EU bloc – to the dismay of many employers groups – and says her government is working on two possible solutions to minimise delays at Britain’s ports and airports.

But the EEF manufacturers’ body said it was unrealistic and naive to think a technological border solution, known as “max fac”, or maximum facilitation, could be implemented by the time a planned Brexit transition period ends in December 2020.

“It may have some long-term benefits, but suggesting max fac is a solution to our immediate problems is a non-starter,” EEF chief executive Stephen Phipson said.

Phipson said a max fac-style arrangement at the US-Canada border had not eliminated the need for checks on most goods.

The customs conundrum is a test of May’s leadership as she tries to pacify rival factions in her Conservative Party and her cabinet. She also needs to win agreement from Brussels where officials have dismissed both the options being considered.

The max fac option is favoured by Eurosceptics in May’s party who want looser ties with the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc.

But last week, Britain’s most senior tax official said such a customs arrangement could cost businesses up to £20 billion (R335 billion) a year. –