UK trade chief: Staying in EU customs union would be sellout
Britain's International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has warned that staying in the European Union (EU) customs union after Brexit would leave the UK in a worse position.
Fox on Tuesday said that remaining inside the tariff-free EU trade zone "would limit our ability to reach new trade agreements with the world's fastest-growing economies."
He called the prospect a sellout of Britain’s national interests, adding a customs union would remove the bulk of incentives for other countries to enter into comprehensive free trade agreements with the UK.
The trade minister also noted that Britain should focus on opportunities outside the EU emphasizing that 57 percent of Britain’s exports of goods and services now go outside of the EU, compared with 44 percent in 2005.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out any customs union deal with the EU after Brexit, arguing that it would keep London from striking new trade deals with fast-growing economies like China and India.
However, she has been struggling to unite her cabinet and offer a clear path to the divorce by its October deadline. She is also facing a rebellion by a small group of pro-Europeans inside the ruling Conservative Party.
Supporters of Brexit think the ability to strike new trade deals around the world is one of the big potential gains of leaving the EU.
Staying in a customs union allows the UK to avoid paying tariffs for its exports to the bloc while curbing the risk of a return to a “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, an issue that has hurdled talks with the EU.
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