May offers new Brexit proposal

SENIOR MINISTERS TO DISCUSS ON FRIDAY So far, PM’s advisors have come up with two options, which the EU scorns.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s advisors have come up with a new proposal for handling customs with the European Union (EU) after Brexit as lawmakers in her party bicker before a crunch meeting of senior ministers on Friday.

With less than nine months left before the country leaves the European Union, little is clear about how trade will flow as May is still trying to produce a customs plan that her divided Conservative Party can agree on.

May, who leads a minority government dependent on the support of a small Northern Irish party, has ruled out staying in the EU customs union, which groups EU members in a duty-free area where there is a common import tariff for non-EU goods.

So far, May’s advisors have come up with two options, neither of which have the full support of her party.

As EU negotiators await the long-delayed proposal from London, the BBC reported that British officials have come up with a third model, though no details were immediately available.

May will gather the squabbling ministers at her Chequers country residence on Friday for an “away-day” aimed at agreeing the contents of a “white paper” policy document.

Brussels has pre-emptively poured scorn on both concepts raised by the government. Under one, Britain would collect tariffs on imports from outside the bloc on the EU’s behalf. The other would implement a technology-based plan. Under the current timetable, both London and Brussels are working towards a final Brexit deal in October to give enough time to ratify it by Brexit day in March 2019.

In a sign of just how worried big business is getting, Siemens, Airbus and BMW have publicly cautioned Britain in the past month that their businesses will be hurt by a disorderly Brexit. A record 75% of major British companies are now pessimistic about Brexit, a survey showed yesterday. Asked about business worries by ambassadors, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was reported by The Daily Telegraph to have said: “F*** business”. A spokesperson disputed that. –