Back to drawing board on customs
Eurosceptics urge May to be firm with Brussels as she admits Brexit deal will require ‘third way’ on trade
THERESA MAY yesterday admitted to Conservative MPS that Brexit negotiations were at an impasse because neither of her options for a customs deal with the EU would work.
The Prime Minister invited all 214 backbenchers to Downing Street to explain why she has had to go back to the drawing board in an attempt to find a replacement for the customs union, but her attempt to get her critics on board appeared to backfire as the “technical briefings” increased fears among Eurosceptics that further delays will mean an extension of the 21-month transition period.
Writing in The Daily Telegraph,
Jacob Rees-mogg, leader of a 60-strong group of Tory Brexiteers, tells Mrs May she must show more “firmness and tenacity” and see the Brexit process “for what it has really become”.
Mr Rees-mogg accuses the EU of treating Britain with “disdain” and using the Irish border question as an excuse to thwart Brexit.
He suggests that rather than becoming tied in knots in an attempt to satisfy the EU, “the UK will simply have to leave with no deal” if Brussels or Dublin “insist upon rejecting all the practical approaches that we propose”.
Mrs May invited her backbenchers to Downing Street in batches of around 50. Mrs May, Gavin Barwell, her chief of staff and Julian Smith, the Chief Whip, set out the complexities facing ministers as they try to find a workable replacement for the customs union.
One source said: “She is bringing the party in on it, rather than trying to get to a fait accompli.”
After introductory comments from Mrs May, Mr Barwell set out the pros and cons of the customs partnership and “maximum facilitation”, or “Max Fac”, options, set out side by side “like a price comparison website”, said one MP.
He said neither option would work “in its current form” but that two Cabinet working groups, which met for the first time last night, were refining them in the hope of finding a third way. They were told not to expect any breakthroughs at this stage, as it is likely to take weeks to draw up revised plans.
Mr Barwell said the customs partnership, favoured by the Prime Minister, would discourage non-eu countries from trading with Britain because of the administrative burden of paying EU tariffs and then claiming back a rebate on goods destined for the UK.
Max Fac, which relies on technology and trusted trader schemes, would not work in its current form as the EU refuses to countenance small and medium-sized transactions being exempt.
Downing Street sources said the presentation concentrated on the technicalities of the two arguments with “no attempt to steer people towards one model or another”. However, one Eurosceptic MP who attended the briefings said No10 was “peddling ridiculous scare stories” about the Irish border to rubbish the Max Fac option.
Michel Barnier, the EU’S chief Brexit negotiator, further enraged Brexiteers yesterday by suggesting that Britain should continue paying into EU development aid projects after Brexit.
However, he insisted that British companies would be banned from taking part in the EU’S Galileo satellite programme, prompting accusations from one Tory MP that he wanted to “have his cake and eat it”.