Tag: Friction

Tory Brexit moderates and business groups have made a last-ditch attempt to push for Theresa May’s preferred customs plan, with the business secretary warning that thousands of jobs would be at risk unless there is frictionless trade. Greg Clark dismissed the idea that the prime minister’s idea for a customs partnership – in which the UK would collect import duties on behalf of the EU – had been rejected at a meeting last week of May’s Brexit inner cabinet. Clark, one of May’s key allies on the issue, said thousands of car industry jobs could be lost unless firms could rely on instant deliveries of parts from the EU. A meeting of May’s Brexit inner cabinet on Wednesday broke up without agreement but apparently with a narrow majority against her preferred option. With no new meeting of the Brexit cabinet yet scheduled, discussions could resume at the full cabinet on Tuesday. Hard Brexit will create more social anger than staying put | William Keegan Read more He said it was possible that it would take until 2023 to put new customs infrastructure in place. In a statement soon afterwards, Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the CBI, said any customs deal must involve “no tariffs or additional border checks, delays or red tape.” She said: “This is a time for pragmatic solutions, not ideology. To protect frictionless trade and ensure no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland, a customs union model based on status quo principles should remain in place unless and until an alternative is ready and workable.” Adam Marshall, head of the BCC, said: “If the government’s position is that the UK will not be in a customs union with the EU, it has an obligation to make this shift happen with the least possible disruption to business, consumers and the wider economy.” Rees-Mogg told ITV’s Peston on Sunday such warnings were not believable. Brexit phrasebook: what is the customs union? “All I can say is, I resigned from government and I’ve gone to the backbenches, and I’m doing just fine.” Greening said voters wanted to hear “pragmatic voices” in the Conservative party, saying many young people in her Putney constituency in south-west London would not forgive them if they put dogma above practicalities.