The BBC (HERE) and most news outlets are giving plenty of space to the government's plan, announced last night, for a temporary customs union with the EU. All seem to be talking about a position paper that the government has published but there is nothing on the DEXEU website as of 9:00 am this morning with the last publication dated 20th July. David Davis has an article in CityAM (HERE) setting out the case for a "smooth and orderly route to a new customs arrangement" but without giving details.
This is how government is carried out nowadays. Release something in a friendly paper or website giving only sketchy but positive details about whatever it is you want to get out. News outlets pick it up and convey the main points that you want to see headlined. Any negative stuff dribbles out later with the details but by then the news outlets have moved on. And it seems the new customs arrangement will look remarkably like the old one. As with the EAW (HERE) we are trying to recreate what exists at the moment but separate from the EU and the ECJ.
I do not know how the EU will react. They have been asking repeatedly for a position paper on the settling of our account but instead we publish (??) the first in a series of "future partnership papers". It's possible, even probable the EU will refuse to engage on these issues until we publish our thoughts on the method of settling the money.
Davis in the CityAM piece says the new customs arrangements must satisfy three criteria:
First, they must facilitate the freest and most frictionless possible trade in goods between the UK and the EU. (Something we have now but are giving up).
Second, they must ensure that the UK can develop a trade policy which enables us to build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous UK (There is no reason given for why leaving the EU will do this). One that is more outward-looking than ever before. As we leave the EU, the UK must get out into the world, forge its own path, and be a true beacon for free trade (Other EU countries already trade far more than we do from inside the single market with no problem).
When the details are finally published I'll put a link to them on here.
