UK could opt to apply same trade tariffs as EU after Brexit
BRUSSELS: Apost-Brexitcustoms arrangement with the European Union could start with Britain sticking to the same external trade tariffs as the bloc, a senior European lawmaker said.
The EU is waiting for London to outline what sort of future relationship it wants with the other 27 nations, with one of the most politically sensitive issues being how to avoid erecting a border across the island of Ireland.
Prime Minister Theresa May, who is expected to present her recipe for that in the coming weeks, wants to leave the EU’s single market and its customs union.
But the bloc says that this would lead to border checks between the Republic of Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
“A solution must be found,” said Danuta Hubner, a Polish member of the European Parliament who deals with Brexit.
“If you have full regulatory alignment, that would allow a border to be avoided. But how to do it for this one region – no one has come up with the solution yet.”
While being inside the EU’s customs union means trading freely and without tariffs between members, a customs union with an outside country allows non-tariff trade barriers – such as quotas or regulatory standards – and therefore still requires border checks.
The EU already has such a
If you have full regulatory alignment, that would allow a border to be avoided. But how to do it for this one region – no one has come up with the solution yet. Danuta Hubner, European Parliament member
customs union with Turkey, albeit excluding agriculture.
“If there were a customs union with the EU, or a customs arrangement, there would be border checks. For food safety in Europe, our biggest obsession, there is no way to avoid checks if you are not inside. It’s completely ruled out.”
Hubner said Britain could make a start on tackling the conundrum by maintaining the same external trade tariffs on goods as the bloc.
“Any country can announce that it has the same external customs tariffs as the EU,” she told Reuters.