Ahead of the launch of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union by the British prime minister, Theresa May, on 29 March to prepare for the Brexit talks on the United Kingdom leaving the EU, British thinktank Open Europe unveiled a study on Monday 27 March concluding that leaving the Customs Union was the only logical step for the UK to have the means to conduct an independent trade policy and properly implement May’s "Global Britain" strategy of the country opening up trade to the world.
Based on assessment of various models of collaboration outside Customs Union, Open Europe argues that the UK and the EU should aim for full customs cooperation as part of a comprehensive bilateral free-trade deal, based on agreements on customs facilitation already signed by the EU and other trading partners, such as Switzerland and Canada.
Open Europe says a compromise needs to be struck between minimising disruptions to trade between the EU and the UK, and ensuring that the UK can shape its own post-Brexit trade policy. Any model keeping the UK half in the Customs Union would restrict its ability to sign trade deals throughout the world.
The report can be found at https://goo.gl/L8qvC0 . (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)