David Davis will host EU boss Michel Barnier in London next week to thrash out Brexit transition deal
Negotiations get back underway with Brexit Secretary hosting Brussels’ chief negotiator on home turf amid customs union row
DAVID Davis will host the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier in London next week to the two sides try and thrash out a Brexit transition deal.
The negotiations get back underway with the Brexit Secretary hosting the Brussels boss home turf amid a row about whether the UK will stay in the customs union when we leave.
It was reported this morning that the government is exploring whether Britain could strike a deal that would keep it in some form of the agreement – which would hamper our ability to strike new trade deals with other nations.
But Theresa May has been clear we will be leaving the customs union with the European Union after Brexit, her spokesman said on Friday.
He told reporters: "The prime minister has set out the position of the need to leave the customs union and the single market.”
It came after Mrs May appeared to leave the door open to some form of customs agreement when pressed on the issue during her visit to China.
She was asked on Sky News whether the £9billion of deals struck during the three-day trip showed it was possible to stay closely aligned with the EU and its customs union while still increasing trade with countries like China.
The PM replied: "What I want to do is ensure that we have got the best possible trade arrangements with China and with other countries around the world once we have left the European Union.
“I do want to do those free trade agreements."
But the International Trade Secretary Liam Fox then said the UK cannot be involved in any customs union with the EU following Brexit.
In an interview in Shanghai with Bloomberg TV, Dr Fox said: "It is very difficult to see how being in a customs union is compatible with having an independent trade policy because we would therefore be dependent on what the EU negotiated in terms of its trading policies and we'd be following behind that.
"We have to be outside of that to take advantage of those growing markets.”
The row provides the backdrop for the start of the second phase of negotiations, which will focus on “Withdrawal issues, Ireland/Northern Ireland and Implementation”.
Mr Davis tweeted: “Looking forward to welcoming Michel Barnier to London on Monday.
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"Important next step in our work to build new partnership between UK and EU.”
The meeting also comes in the wake of a clash between the two sides over the rights of EU migrants who come to the UK during any transition period.
Mrs May has insisted that EU workers who arrive in the UK during the proposed transition arrangements from March 2019 to December 2020 cannot have the same status as people who came to Britain before withdrawal.
