LSE EUROPP (European Politics and Policy) blog:
Five important questions the UK government's Brexit customs plan fails to answer
19 July 2017
Article by Thomas Sampson: The most welcome aspect of the government’s policy paper on future customs arrangements is its acknowledgement of the desirability of a transition agreement after the UK leaves the EU. A transition deal will avoid the risks of a cliff-edge Brexit in March 2019 and give the two sides time to negotiate a new trade agreement. The paper suggests the transition agreement could involve a “continued close association with the EU Customs Union for a time-limited period … based on a shared external tariff and without customs processes and duties”. In effect, it proposes that the UK remains in the Customs Union, although this is never explicitly stated.