Customs union not ‘compatible’, says Fox

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has said that Britain cannot be involved in any customs union with the EU following Brexit.

His comments came as Prime Minister Theresa May insisted that it was not necessary to choose between the alternatives of frictionless trade with Europe and the ability to strike new deals elsewhere in the world.

And she appeared to leave the door open to some form of customs agreement when pressed on the issue during her visit to China.

Asked on Sky News whether the £9 billion of deals struck during the three-day trip showed it was possible to stay closely aligned with the EU and its customs union while still increasing trade with countries like China, the PM replied: “What I want to do is ensure that we have got the best possible trade arrangements with China and with other countries around the world once we have left the European Union. I do want to do those free trade agreements.”

Downing Street has rejected a report in the Financial Times that ministers are privately considering a customs union arrangement for post-brexit trade in goods in order to avoid disruption to exports.

In an interview in Shanghai with Bloomberg TV, Dr Fox indicated that the UK was also ruling out entering into any other customs union arrangement with the remaining EU27.

“It is very difficult to see how being in a customs union is compatible with having an independent trade policy because we would therefore be dependent on what the EU negotiated in terms of its trading policies and we’d be following behind that,” Dr Fox said.