Brexit trade deals ‘could be ruined by SNP’
Electronic customs system with Ireland and Channel Tunnel could be in place by 2021, says report author
THE SNP risks “splitting” the UK’s economy and causing serious damage to the country’s ability to strike trade deals by demanding a series of powers currently held by Brussels, Theresa May’s de facto deputy warns today.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph ahead of a major speech tomorrow, David Lidington, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, says an attempt by Nicola Sturgeon’s government to seize control of key trade powers would result in a “disjointed” economy and leave Britain “struggling to make our way in a new world outside the EU”.
In a stark warning to both the Scottish and Welsh authorities, Mr Lidington suggests that Holyrood and Cardiff risk damaging the Westminster Government’s “ability to act in the national interest” and forge new trade agreements, by opening the door to “different sets of rules” in each part of the UK.
Ministers fear that any disparity in areas such as food safety and chemicals standards, including items such as bleach and paint, could tie their hands when they attempt to strike trade deals on behalf of the entire country.
Mr Lidington also warns that any discrepancies between the UK’s four nations would lead to “unnecessary disruption” for domestic trade.
Today Theresa May separately reveals how she told ministers that, with the right decisions, “Brexit will be the beginning of a bright new chapter in our national story, and our best days really do lie ahead of us”.
Mr Lidington’s comments come after SNP ministers accused the UK Government of a “power grab” over its insistence that powers over areas such as food standards and regulation of chemicals should be returned to Westminster to ensure “continuity” across the UK’s nations after Brexit.
Last week, John Swinney, Scotland’s deputy first minister, said Holyrood needed the power to “act differently in Scotland when that is the right thing to do”. His intervention followed a joint meeting of ministers from the Scottish, Welsh and UK governments, at which Mr Lidington made a “considerable offer” to pass many EU powers to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast after the UK’s departure from the EU, following months of negotiations.
At the same meeting SNP ministers said the country should “remain within the single market and customs union” after Brexit.
Today, Mr Lidington, who replaced Damian Green in last month’s reshuffle, writes that under the Government’s proposals “Westminster would only be involved where, to protect the UK internal market or to meet our interna
tional obligations we need a
A NEW generation of “smart” borders after Brexit will modernise Britain’s trade and give the country an “extra advantage” on the world stage, a European Union-commissioned expert has said.
Lars Karlsson, a former director of the inter-governmental World Customs Organisation, said a system of electronic borders of the kind being considered by the Government would make the UK a “very attractive” trading partner following its departure from the EU.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Karlsson also disclosed that he had been sounded out by European Commission and British officials over a report he wrote setting out proposals for a “smart” border on the island of Ireland after Brexit – bolstering suggestions the technology is likely to form part of the “end state” relation- ship between the UK and EU regardless of the specifics of a trade deal.
“Officials from the commission and British Government have both been in touch with questions about the report’s conclusions,” he said.
A position paper published last summer by the Department for Exiting the European Union discussed the possibility of a “highly streamlined customs arrangement” under which both sides would “implement technology-based solutions to make it easier to comply with customs procedures”.
Mr Karlsson’s intervention comes after Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, pointed to concerns that plans to use technology to create a “frictionless” border would be costly and take a significant amount of time to implement.
Mr Karlsson said “these are things that take time”, but added: “I think a first version of a border like this could be in place at the end of a transition period in 2021.
“A few years later there would be a full solution in place.”
Mr Karlsson is a former deputy director general of the customs agency in Sweden, which has a technology-based border in place with Norway, allowing firms to pre-notify authorities of any shipments, with their lorries then tracked by cameras at the border using automatic number-plate recognition software.
He said: “This solution would do one of the things both parties are interested in and that make it possible to increase trade. It could be the most advanced customs system in the world, taking the maximum international standards and best practice. It would make both of these parties very attractive for trade agreements with third parties, and could actually be an advantage for one of the reasons I assume the UK wants to have its own policies for securing trade deals.
“I would assume if you develop it for the Northern Ireland border and Channel Tunnel you would have to implement it for all goods coming out of the UK.
“It would be likely to increase the capacity and competitiveness of the UK’s trade, making it a very attractive trading partner.”
Mr Karlsson’s report, commissioned by the European Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, was published in November under the title “Smart Border 2.0: Avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland for Customs control and the free movement of persons.”
Its recommendations for creating a “low-friction border for the movement of goods” include continued mutual recognition between the UK and EU of “authorised economic operators” – a system currently in place giving approved firms a simplified customs process or the ability to “fast-track” shipments through the usual procedures.